Barbara Puerner Warner

Barbara Puerner Warner October 17, 1934 – May 6, 2018 Barbara Puerner Warner, 83, of Wilson passed away Sunday, May 6, 2018 at Wilson Medical Center. Barbara will be remembered fondly for her infectious laugh and loving nature. She dedicated her life to caring for others as a mother, nurse and rescuer of strays. Barbara met her husband of fifty years, Richard Warner, while serving as a playground monitor for children in Janesville, Wisconsin. Together, they have fostered dozens of newborn children as they await adoption placement, and they also adopted and raised four children of their own. Barbara was a class act who was just at ease in a cocktail dress with a Lucky Strike in one hand and a Manhattan in the other as she was in sweatpants tending to her children and pets. She graduated from Janesville High School in Janesville, Wisconsin and earned her nursing degree from the State University of New York at Canton. Barbara is survived by her four children; William Warner (Barbara Jones) of New Hope, Pennsylvania, Susan Brewer (Mike)of Wilson, Col. Michael Warner of Dayton, Ohio, and Jennifer Warner (Paul Melsness) of Minneapolis, Minnesota; three grandchildren, Justin Brewer, Richard Melsness, and Henrik Melsness, and her brothers Bradley Puerner (Karen) of Milton, Wisconsin, Richard Puerner (Doris) of Canfield, Ohio, and William Puerner (Connie, deceased) of Benton, Kentucky. She was preceded in death by her husband, Richard Warner; brother, Merrill Puerner, Jr. (Lois), and her parents, Merrill and Ethel Puerner. A graveside service will be held at 2:00pm, Monday, May 14, 2018 in Milton Lawns Memorial Park, Janesville, Wisconsin. In lieu of flowers, the family has requested memorials in Barbara’s memory to be sent to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty of Animals (ASPCA), 424 E 92nd Street, New York, New York 10128 or ttps://www.aspca.org/ or the Humane Society, PO Box 7064, Wilson, North Carolina or http://www.humanesociety.org/ Schneider Funeral Home in Janesville, Wisconsin is assisting the family.