Aunt Sue

I know it was never official or anything but all my life I've had Uncle Merrill, Aunt Jeanne and Aunt Sue. So I'll be adding her here among the family - Good bye Aunt Sue.

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Susan “Sue” Eve Mieling, age 71, of Wheeling, passed away shortly after celebrating her birthday, on September 13, 2025. She was born in Des Plaines, Illinois, on September 4, 1954, and was a woman full of joy, creativity and life.

Sue worked for more than 30 years at Kraft Foods, where she built lasting friendships and a strong work ethic. Outside of work, her passions were endless. She loved baking, scrapbooking, reading, crafting and collecting. She enjoyed day trips with the Prospect Heights Park District, where she made many lifelong friends. A devoted Star Trek fan, Sue also delighted in decorating her home for every occasion, filling each season with color and fun.

She was known for her warm hugs, playful growl and unforgettable sense of style. She would always arrive in animal prints or bright, cheerful outfits that reflected her vibrant personality. She loved animals dearly and cherished the companionship of her dogs, Monday, Patty and Emmie. Adventurous at heart, Sue was always willing to try something new at least once.

She is survived by her brother, James (Cynthia) Mieling; her niece, Lindsey (Michael) Oriole; her niece, Sara (John) Upton; and her great-nieces, Claire and Zoey Upton. She was preceded in death by her parents, Wilbert and Lorraine Mieling. She will be deeply missed by her family, friends and all who knew her.

Visitation Friday, September 26, 2025 from 10 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at Oehler Funeral Home, 2099 Miner Street, Des Plaines, IL. Celebration of Life to follow at 1:00 p.m. Committal Ridgewood Memorial Park, Des Plaines. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Kay’s Animal Shelter in Arlington Heights, IL. For more info, call (847) 824-5155.

Farr Tuttle and Beulah Ruch

If you will remember I posed back in September, 2024 regarding the Rudes family reunion.  If you'll recall there were two people I was trying to identify.  They were Beulah Rush and Farr Tuttle.  Today I return to make my theory official.  

First, lets touch on Farr Tuttle.   He is by far the easiest to connect.  I found an obituary for Avis Aurilla Rudes in The Blade dated March 8, 1947.  The obituary lists her as survived by her brothers, Fred & Farr Tuttle.  Farr died in Miami, Florida in December of 1955.  

Where It Fits: Avis Tuttle Rudes was the wife George Adelbert Rudes having married him in December of 1880.  Together they have at least 10 children which survived her but possibly more as I am still attempting to clarify all the names and nicknames.  

Beuah Ruch is harder to figure out.  I've identified her I'm fairly confident but I've found no connection to the Rudes' so possibly there as a girlfriend or just a friend of the family along for the ride?  There seems to be more than one Beulah Ruch but the article clearly stated she was from Luckey, Ohio and one of the Beulah's mentions Luckey in almost every article which made it exceptionally easy for me to track her down.  I wish everybody was as considerate with their paper trail.  Anyway, Beulah Ruch was born May 19, 1909 in Luckey, Ohio  She was the daughter of Adam Ruch and Louise Hotmer.  On July 23, 1926 she married Harold Kern and they were married 73 years before he passed.  She died in October of 2001.  

Wait, what?!

 Sometimes living in a small town/county is really fun.  Everything sort of folds in on its each other and you can see just exactly how small of a world it can be.  For example, I was looking for something entirely unrelated and found this article about a poem De Ila wrote when she was 14.  Take a look and see if you can spot what I found.  

That's right!  That's my momma in the "10 Years Ago" column.  Who would have expected to find De Ila and Kymberly side by side in 1968?  

Source: The above articles were taken from the News Herald, March 4, 1968; Page 6.  

Where it fits: De Ila is the daughter of Merrill Basil Rudes, Jr. & Mary Caroline "Mary Cary" Leutz.  Kymberly Allen is the daughter of Richard Walter Allen & Joyce Elaine Johannsen.  Or in short, my mother and my paternal aunt who wouldn't meet for at least another 10 years.    

Runaway Auto

 RUNAWAY AUTO HITS ELECTRIC LIGHT POLE 

Driveless Car Performs Capers On Street Here 

The old duty of a patrolman to stop a runaway house was changed to stopping a runaway car of Patrolman Christ Schlmeyer last night. 

William Johannsen of Port Clinton was attempting to crank an ancient and wheezy type of car known as a "Lizzie" 10 or 15 years ago on Columbus-av just south of Market-st.  The crank locked.  Johannsen was attempting to jump up and down on the crank.

"Try putting it in gear and shaking the car", Schlmeyer, who had evidently had some experience with that type of car, shouted in encouragement from his corner at the southwest corner of Columbus-av and Market-st. 

Whether Johannsen did that or not, it started with no driver and Mrs. Johannsen and a child in the front seat.  

The car slowly picked up speed traveling north on Columbus-av without a drive with Johannsen trying to stop it from in front by shoving against the radiator.  Between times he shouted for Mrs. Johannsen to stop it.  But Mrs. Johannsen didn't know how to stop it,  Johannsen tried to shout instructions to her but the car was gaining too much speed and he had to jump from in front of it. 

Sehlmeyer rushed out to give aid.  But before he could do much the car plunged over the curb at the northeast corner of Columbus-av and Market-st, struck an electric light pole, veered off and then crashed into a parked machine.  There it stopped.  None was injured.  The car had traveled about 300 feet.   

The above article was taken from the Sandusky Register from March 14, 1935.  I am equal parts amused and horrified.  It originally strikes me as rather funny to have ones car take off on them simply because nobody was hurt other than I'm sure some broke prides.  I can't imagine how terrifying it would be to have the car I'm in with my child take off on its own and possibly run my husband over before getting into a car accident.  It seems like a wild course of events that a person couldn't make up even if they tried.  I hope they had several good laughs about it after they calmed down.  

Where it fits: William Johannsen is the son of Julius Johannsen and Caroline Japsen.  He was married to Kizzie Ethel McMurray and together they had Sue, Betty, William and Thomas.