Celeste Marie Woestman

Celeste was born on April 15, 1964 in La Mesa, California. She was raised not far from there,  in Casa De Oro with her older sister, Teresa and brother Jimmy. Her mom and dad, Mary Jane and Jim Weismann taught her by their examples how to be a caring, loving and kind Catholic woman. 

Celeste has many fond memories of her childhood such as playing in their custom hand made playhouse (built by her dad) and riding her bicycle for hours and hours at the elementary school playground across the street. She often told me how she used to love watching her dad and her uncles do hard manual labor in the yard powered only by Coors beer and Mary Jane’s tacos! 

When she was kid she was affectionately called Cissy, those who knew her then, still use this nickname. 

She was a straight -A student and enjoyed learning new things. 

Celeste always had a job in her teen years. From babysitting to working at Hickory Farms in Grossmont Center. This way she saved enough money to buy a red Volkswagen Beetle and take a six week vacation adventure through Europe. She later went on to work at Dictating Systems, Holiday and Associates Financial Services and then as payroll clerk for the Grossmont high school district. 

She had lots of great friends too. Debbie, Shellie and Kristen stayed close friends for the rest of her life and supported her and me through thick and thin. 

In 1984 Celeste and I started dating and (although she tried to break up with me several times), she became Mrs. Celeste Woestman in June of 1987. (Shellie and I had to convince her that I was “the one”!). We moved into my home in Lakeside and together we made it “our home”. Celeste had a great eye for decorating, although not always conventional, but always quirky, colorful and interesting. I can’t tell you how many times I would come home from work and there she was, with the stereo blaring, re arranging the furniture and rugs and then handing me a hammer and tape measure to hang the new artwork that Mike Beaulieu had custom framed for her. We later moved to Alpine to start from scratch and built our own home, from the ground up. 

In 1994 Celeste found her true calling as a MOM. Gus was born then Konrad in 1996 and finally Ivan in 1998. 

Celeste and I made the decision that she would be a stay at home mom. She was the best mom ever. She excelled at this vocation of motherhood. There is no way of counting how many hours and days she spent making sure everything was perfect for her children and me. She would sometimes spend the entire day working as a volunteer at OLPH School. She would drive the kids to and from school and then help them with their homework, made dinner and kept the house in order. This continued on through high school with sports and band activities. 

Birthday parties were her specialty! She would stay awake at night making sure everything was perfect for these celebrations. Not one of our boys friends can think of Mrs. Woestman without remembering her “Cup-Cones”!….Cup cakes in an ice cream cone!…What a novel idea! …I’ll take two!

Also, little Caesars and Giant Pizza King would have gone out of business if not for the mammoth orders placed by Celeste for these birthday, 1st Communion, Confirmation and graduation parties.  Celeste also worked at Mill Brothers as our bookkeeper for over thirty years. From day one she made sure every penny was accounted for and not a single bill was ever paid late. She was also the company “mom” helping the guys figure out their taxes and keeping track of their vacation hours so they could spend time with their families. 

Celeste loved to embarrass her kids by randomly talking to a stranger about where they bought their shoes or what color their nail polish was. Every once in a while she might have had a cocktail (or two) and then would show off her 1979 disco moves. This always sent the kids running to their rooms. 

Celeste not only lived her life to serve others but first and most importantly to serve God. She lived a humble and happy life according to Gods commandments and the teachings of the Church. She prayed through the intersession of Mary for the safety of her family. She learned early on that there was a loving God who was keeping a watchful eye on her and her family. His plan was greater than she could comprehend but she always did what was asked of her and followed His lead. It is with this great Faith that she leaned on in her final days and with great confidence she entered into His kingdom. God Bless Celeste and all who follow in the Lord’s path! May she and all the Faithfully departed rest in God’s s peace. Amen.