BETH WEHRMAN, 1952 - 2008, A LIFE WELL LIVED

Thursday the following obituary appeared in the Quad-City Times of
Davenport, Iowa:

ELIZABETH WEHRMAN

LeClaire, Iowa - Elizabeth Ann Wehrman, 56, of LeClaire, Iowa, died
October 14, 2008, at her home as a result of pancreatic cancer. A
visitation will be held 4-8 p.m. Friday, October 17, at Weerts
Funeral Home, Kimberly at Jersey Ridge, Davenport. Celebration of
Life services will be 10:30 a.m. Saturday at the funeral home.
Private interment will be in Glendale Cemetery, LeClaire. A memorial
fund will be established in Beth's honor. Beth believed life was best
spent in a pair of blue jeans, so please join the family in honoring
her wish by wearing them to all services.

Elizabeth (Beth) Ann Bemenderfer was born on September 15, 1952, to
Ned and Mildred Bemenderfer in Rochester, Indiana. She completed
nurse's training at St. Elizabeth's in East Lafayette, Indiana, and
her BSN at MaryCrest in 1986. While working at Mercy Hospital in Des
Moines, she met her future husband, Randal Wehrman. They married on
December 27, 1975, in West Branch, Iowa.

Beth continued her life as a nurse, a trailblazer in her field. She
was head supervisor at the newly founded MEDIC, taught many EMS and
Lamaze classes, was the Executive Director of AIDS Project Quad
Cities, helped her husband as they established Wehrman Insurance, and
most recently founded LifeGuard working as a "Street Nurse" providing
harm reduction services. She was also the first female volunteer
firefighter for the City of Le Claire Fire Department. The mother of
four daughters, Beth ran the local softball league, taught
confirmation classes, helped start Pleasant Valley Stingrays swim
team and supported her children in all their endeavors. She also
loved being Gamma to her eight grandchildren.

In her spare time Beth enjoyed reading, knitting, camping, traveling,
cake decorating, and above all spending time with her family. Her
most recent passion was working the grassroots movement to nominate
and elect Senator Obama to the Presidency. Beth was beloved and
admired for her community service, compassion and her commitment to
being a voice for those less fortunate.

She will be lovingly remembered by her husband, Randy; daughters,
Kristin (Mark) Coopman of Bettendorf, Anne (Jake) Stoefen of Hudson,
Wis., Leah (Jesse) White of Davenport, and Sara (AJ) Sullivan of Iowa
City. She will also be missed by her grandchildren, Chaeli, Kenzie,
Ethan, Jackson, Joie, William, Addyson, and Erika; brothers, Todd
(Judy) Bemenderfer and Neil (Lynn) Bemenderfer; and her parents. She
will also be missed by special family friend, BJ Stevenson, and many
other special friends and relatives.

Online condolences may be expressed to Beth's family by visiting her
obituary at www.WeertsFH.com.

As the obituary indicates, Beth was a dedicated harm reduction and
drug policy reform activist. You may remember her from her attendance
at various conferences. Or perhaps as the 'The 'Needle Lady'" as the
Peoria Journal Star called Beth in this article
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02/n867/a02.html Beth was a volunteer
editor for the Media Awareness Project. She edited over twelve
thousand news clippings. Plus Beth found and newshawked about five
thousand news clippings - a slight majority of which were about her
needle exchange and harm reduction areas of interest.

Beth received the Spirit of Marycrest Award on October 4th as this
article 'Spirit of Marycrest Award Goes to AIDS Activist' states
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v08/n921/a07.html As indicated in the
obituary a trust fund is being established. The trust fund will be
allowed to grow and once a year grants from the fund's interest will
be made to organizations that Beth supported and worked with.

Once the family lawyer establishes the trust fund there will be a new
address for donations. You may send donations now. Please mark them
as for the 'memorial trust fund.'

Please make your checks out to Randy Wehrman.

Mail them to:

Randy Wehrman

130 Riverview Heights Drive

LeClaire, IA 52753-0228