A writer and traveler, Mabel S. Warnke took seven trips to Brazil and taught herself how to speak Portuguese. She later wrote a few books about her travels, one of which was published. Mrs. Warnke, 100, of Des Plaines, died of natural causes Monday, Aug. 16, in St. Matthew Center for Health in Park Ridge. She grew up on a farm in what was called East Maine and is now Niles. The first girl from her farming community to graduate from Maine Township High School, she was asked to write a column about farm life for the Cook County Herald (now the Daily Herald) and the Des Plaines Suburban Times. Her columns ran for 25 years. She married Albert J. Warnke in 1931, and the couple moved to Des Plaines that same year. She had three daughters and was a Sunday school teacher and trainer at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Des Plaines. She headed a Lutheran Church Missouri Synod committee that translated Bibles into Braille. She was president and founder of the Women’s Guild in Des Plaines. She spoke German, Spanish and Portuguese. “German was her home language, she took Spanish in high school and after coming home from Brazil, she taught herself Portuguese,” said her daughter, Lois. She loved traveling to countries where she could see the work of missionaries, she added. Other survivors include another daughter, Eunice Werner; three grandsons; and six great-grandchildren. Visitation will be held from 3 to 9 p.m. Wednesday in Oehler Funeral Home, 2099 Miner St., Des Plaines. A service will be held at 11 a.m. Thursday in Immanuel Lutheran Church, 855 Lee St., Des Plaines.
