Winnie Marie (Hofmann) Rorheim , wife of Awana Co-Founder Art Rorheim, went home to be with her Savior on December 21, 2015 at 2:00 a.m. in Rockford, Illinois. Winnie is survived by her husband, Art; her son and daughter-in-law, Ken and Katie; her daughter, Kathlyn Brock; four granddaughters, Amy (Gary) Roedding, Julie (Joel) Bales, Kim (Tom) Ahlgrim, and Kerry (Rich) Gwaltney; 10 great-grandchildren and two great-great grandchildren. She is preceded in death by her beloved son-in-law, Dennis Brock.

Winnie was born Winnie Hofmann on March 8, 1918 in Chicago. Her parents were Carl and Kate Hofmann. Raised in a broken home, Winnie cared for her two younger sisters, Ruth (Reuter) and Charlotte (Cook), while her mother worked long hours to support the family.

Winnie's life forever changed when a friend invited her to a youth club meeting at the Chicago Gospel Tabernacle in 1932. On the first night Winnie visited, she trusted Jesus Christ as her Savior.

Winnie's newfound faith grew under the tutelage of Virginia "Teach" Latham, the wife of Tabernacle Music Pastor Lance Latham. Winnie later became a leader for the girls' clubs at the North Side Gospel Center, a new church founded by Lance Latham. At the Gospel Center she met Art Rorheim, a leader of the boys' clubs at the church. They married in 1939.

Art went into full-time ministry in 1943 as youth director at the Center. Art and Lance started a weekly club program that they named Awana based on its key Bible verse, 2 Timothy 2:15 – Approved … workmen … are … not … ashamed. In 1950, Art and Lance founded the Awana Youth Association as a non-profit provider of program and training materials for churches. Art guided the organization as executive director.

Winnie was fully supportive of Art and the ministry while raising their son, Ken, and daughter, Kathlyn. Art says "There would be no Awana without Winnie."

Winnie served in a variety of roles at Awana headquarters for nearly 40 years starting in 1962. She was also responsible for sewing the original Awana neckerchiefs, beanbags and hat monograms for the club uniforms. She served as director of the Junior Guards program for fifth- and sixth-grade girls at the Gospel Center and was a leader at Camp Awana in Fredonia, Wisconsin. Winnie was also in charge of catering banquets for donors, leaders and other groups. She later was active in the Rorheims' home church, North Love Baptist Church in Rockford, Illinois, starting in 1982.

One of Winnie's greatest loves was her family. She spent countless hours with her children, grandchildren and great grandchildren. Winnie loved to travel, make crafts, memorize God's Word, and spend time with family and friends.

A memorial service will be held at North Love Baptist Church , 5301 East Riverside Boulevard, Rockford, Illinois on Saturday, January 2, 2016. Visitation will be from 9 - 11 a.m., and the service will be held from 11a.m. - 12:30 p.m. A luncheon will follow at 12:30 p.m.

Pastor Paul Kingsbury of North Love Baptist Church, Co-Founder/Chairman of Reformers Unanimous and Pastor Arne Abrahamson former Awana Missionary, former Vice President of Awana will be officiating along with additional remarks from Awana President/CEO Jack Eggar and Pastor Jim Scudder Jr. Executive Pastor of Quentin Road Bible Baptist Church located in Lake Zurich, Illinois and President of Dayspring Bible College & Seminary.

In lieu of flowers, the family is asking that memorial gifts be donated to Awana . A special donation page has been set up in memory of Winnie .