A Journey Remembered

As some people journey through life,

they leave footprints wherever they go-

Footprints of kindness, and love, courage and compassion,

humor and inspiration, joy and faith.

Even when they are gone, we can still look back and clearly see the trail

they left behind- a trail bright with hope that invites us to follow.

As we look back to honor our residents who have passed away since May

2019, we can see their footprints and their trial that they have left

behind for us to follow.

We celebrate their “Dash”, the gift of their legacy that they

have given us to cherish and treasure.

We thank you, beloved family members, for entrusting us to care for

your loved ones, as we too have grown to become one family

as we spent our days together. Each and every resident who we

are honoring was unique in their own ways. Our staff all have

special memories imprinted in our minds and in our hearts

and feel blessed that each one has come into our lives.

The Dash

By Linda Ellis

I read of a man who stood to speak at the funeral of a friend.

He referred to the dates on her tombstone from the beginning…to the end.

He noted that first came the date of her birth and spoke of the following date with

tears, but he said what mattered most of all was the dash between those years.

For that dash represents all the time that she spent alive on earth and now only

those who loved her know what that little line is worth.

For it matters not, how much we own, the cars…the house…the cash. What

matters is how we live and love and how we spend our dash.

So think about this long and hard; are there things you’d like to change?

For you never know how much time is left that can still be rearranged.

If we could just slow down enough to consider what’s true and real and always try

to understand the way other people feel.

And be less quick to anger and show appreciation more and love the people in our

lives like we’ve never loved before.

If we treat each other with respect and more often wear a smile…remembering

that this special dash might only last a little while.

So when your eulogy is being read with your life’s actions to rehash, would you be

proud of the things they say about how you spent your dash?

Ida Bemis was born in Bruce; her parents came from Norway.

She grew up on a farm and loved animals. As a child she

enjoyed playing with her pet pig, riding horses, fishing, berry

picking, and skiing on skies her father made. She attended a

one room school house. She met her spouse to be, Frank, when

she was 18 yrs. old. He was on the truck that

came to their family farm. The couple

raised 6 children. They were a close

family who were very dedicated to

Ida’s care and visited her often. Ida

was a wonderful mother, who had a

loving, kind, gentle heart which was

so evident everyday as she took care

of her babies. She loved children.

She was a beautiful tall, slender

woman who had a beautiful

smile; her eyes and smile would

light up the room when her

daughters would visit with their

French Bulldog puppies. Ida

noticed beauty in nature and loved flowers and gardening. She

had an aura of peace around her and people liked to be near her.

Ida was our songbird! We loved listening to her hum along to

music that was playing.

Grace Biederman was born in Sheldon and lived there her entire life. She and her husband raised their 2 children on their farm. In later years they enjoyed traveling and spent winters in Arizona. Grace was a talented crafter, she made beautiful quilts, crocheted tablecloths and doilies. She was proud that she made quilts for all of her grandchildren. She won many blue ribbons at the fair last year for her beautiful pieces. She was such a wonderful lady with a sweet smile. Grace was patient, kind, and appreciative. She had a wonderful sense of humor about everything! She loved her family and friends and spoke about how much she knew that they loved her and how much she loved them. But more than anything Grace loved the Lord. She found peace and contentment no matter what the circumstances because the Lord was her rock. She read her Bible faithfully and often asked for specific scriptures to be found. She loved to read, especially books that focused on faith and inspirational messages. She loved her church and looked forward to being able to watch the Sheldon Church of Christ services on line and then by DVD as her Pastor sent DVDs of the service. Grace enjoyed participating in activities and visiting with her nursing home family and neighbors. One person said it this way, “Grace was filled with Grace.”

Gerald Bruesewitz was lovingly called “Breezy or Jerry” he was born in Sheboygan. One of his childhood memories was going to a one room schoolhouse. He served in the United States Navy from 1963-67. While he was in Japan, he was an Air Traffic Controller. He met his wife Linda, in a country western bar in Milwaukee, they spent the evening dancing, and were married on March 21, 1970. The couple had 2 children and 5 grandchildren. Jerry retired after 32 years of federal service; 12 years as an air traffic controller for the FAA and 20 years as a food safety inspector for the USDA. He enjoyed hunting, fishing, hiking, ice fishing, picking mushrooms, cooking, playing sheepshead and golfing along with spending time with his family and friends. Jerry’s wife Linda was very dedicated and devoted to him and to his care.

Lillian Bucz was born in 1932 to Stanley and Josephine Galetka,

she was one of 7 children. After high school she moved to

Chicago, where she met and married her late husband, Anthony

Bucz. Tragically, he passed, and she returned to Ladysmith with

her children Tony and Michele. She worked as a secretary at OLS,

and later Indianhead Community Action Agency.

She loved playing cards with her siblings

and daughter who visited her every

evening, it was a warm family

atmosphere. Lill’s smile lit up a room.

She loved music, singing and knew

many old-time songs and hymns by

heart. She loved to dance and was

known for wiggling her hips, and

her feet were always moving to the

music. She loved animals and had a

kind and loving heart. Her Catholic

faith was very important to her. She

was always very gracious and

welcoming when she would invite

us to sit for a while in her apartment. Lillian was fun to visit with

because she had a great sense of humor.

Norman Reid Butterfield was born on in Elmhurst, IL to Norman Sr. and Grace Butterfield, he was an only child. The family moved to Ojibwa in 1946. Norman served in the U.S. Army during the Korean Conflict. He farmed and drove milk truck throughout his adult life. He was a hard-working farmer whose hands showed evidence of this. On Oct. 23, 1954 he married the love of his life June, the couple had 4 children, Nancy, David, Karen and Susan. Norman loved his devoted family and his face would light up whenever his wife June walked in the room, and whenever we talked about her everything would fall into place for him. It was obvious seeing them together that Norm and his wife were very devoted to each other. His family was also devoted to him and visited often. He loved being with them and going for walks inside and outdoors with them. Norman was a sweet man who was always pleasant and smiling. He loved polka music, and would rather listen to music than watch TV. His faith was important to him, and so was being a member of the First United Methodist Church in Exeland.

Donald Christianson was a lifetime resident of the Blue Hills, which he deeply loved. He met the love of his life, Kathryn Olesiak, at a dance in Apollonia. They celebrated their 73rd wedding anniversary on Feb. 18. Don was proud to serve his country in the Navy during WWII. He later was active in the Weyerhaeuser VFW where he served as their commander for several years. He was a logger and a farmer most of his life. He was the town black-smith for a time in the village of Bruce. He spent countless hours tinkering in his shop, fixing and building things. He enjoyed flea marketing, buying and selling antique tools. The Rocky Mountains held a special place in Don’s heart, he enjoyed logging and hunting elk there. Hunting was a big part of Don’s life, not only to provide food for his family, but he enjoyed being in the woods of the Blue Hills. What a storyteller Don was, telling many stories over the years. In later years, he would make up poems off the top of his head and we could listen all day. His most important one he told repeatedly was about the love he felt for his wife Kathryn. He shared this at their anniversary celebration and everyone in the room was in awe. He was proud of his family of 5 children, 9 grandchildren, 21 great grandchildren and 1 great-great grand-child.

Laurien Christoffersen was born in St. Paul where she grew up on a farm. As far back as she could remember, she was riding horses, and they became her passion. As a child, her closest sister went off to school, when she came home, she taught Laurien what she learned that day. When Laurien was school age, she was able to skip kindergarten, and went right into first grade. This enabled her to graduate from high school three months after her 16th birthday. After graduation she followed her sister to Colorado State University where she met and married Donald Christoffersen. Their son Mark was born the following year, and 2 years later, daughter Susan was born. Tragically, Susan was killed in a car accident when she was 15 years old. Eventually Laurien returned to the work world. She thoroughly en-joyed her banking career working her way up from being a teller to VP of operations. After retirement, she and Don built their retirement home on the Chippewa River north of Bruce. There she was able to renew her passion for horses and went riding often on the trails in the Blue Hills with her riding partner Peg. She had a large picture of her horse in her room, her love for horses would be her focus during times of pain. She also loved to sit overlooking the river and watching for deer, birds and eagles. She was an avid reader and New York Times crossword puzzle-solver.

Bill Cowin was born in Chicago. He was very proud to be a

veteran and served in the Air Force during the Korean conflict. He

enjoyed his job as being a trustee of the Village of Hoffman

Estates. He was a true gentleman, a very sweet, quiet, polite,

friendly person who had a great smile. Bill enjoyed reading and

had an extensive library. He had a passion for

history, biographies and cars. He enjoyed

playing cribbage with his brother Bob,

even though they constantly bickered

during the entire game! Bill loved

music, especially classical and could

drink coffee anytime.

Grace Dantzman was born in 1932 at home in Fishtrap township.

She and her 7 siblings were raised in the Winter area. While

attending a dance, she spotted Rayner Dantzman, admiring his

dancing style. He escorted her home, and their love story began.

They were married in 1952 and raised 5 sons. The boys were

Grace’s pride and joy, the greatest gift of her

life. Farming and family filled her life, and

she was always willing and wanting to

talk about her life on the farm. Grace

was such a caring and loving woman;

she was sympathetic and sentimental

and you could talk to her about

anything. Grace was funny and

quick witted, and she gave the

warmest hugs. She loved music and

dancing. Dancing is what brought

her and her husband together and is

what gave them their greatest

pleasure. Grace danced her way

into heaven, greeted by her

husband, who took her hand, waltzing their way through eternity.

Doris Redmond Erickson was born in Ladysmith in 1919, the daughter of Hugh and Lillian Redmond. She was the oldest of 4 sisters, the Redmond Girls. Doris was a tomboy who loved to help her dad. She lived a full life of 100 years and was a wonderful historian of people, places and events in Ladysmith. She was an active member of Hope Lutheran Church, enjoyed helping with the Scandinavian dinners, cookie walks, and funeral dinners. During her 9 years living at our facility she was an adamant resident advocate; she could be counted on to give us her opinions to keep care quality high. She served as the President of the Resident Council for many years. She prided herself on her global interests and kept us all aware of local, state, national and world events through the current events group she led. She attended many activity programs and stayed devoted to her church. She loved visiting with other residents and volunteers. She was a woman of spunk and decisiveness and always had great stories to tell. She loved, loved, loved her chocolate and would say, “One piece of chocolate a day is what helps me to live a long life”. She enjoyed the love and visits of her 21 great grand-children and was extremely proud of her remarkably supportive family.

Georgie Mae Kozub Erickson was born on St. Patrick’s Day in 1924 in Hawkins to Frank and Victoria Kozub. She lived in a log cabin with 3 sisters and 4 brothers. She loved to reminisce about her childhood and remembered walking many miles to school in the winter. Her neighbor had a horse drawn sleigh, and if she was lucky, she could catch a ride on their sleigh. The sleigh had a stove that kept them warm. She married Elgin Erickson, when she was just 17 years old. They were married for 61 years until Elgin’s death in 2002. Georgie and Elgin owned and operated Our House Hardware store in Hawkins from 1956 until they sold it in 1968. She then worked for Security State Bank and Hawkins Insurance Agency. Georgie was active in the Hawkins Lion’s Harvest Festival, Altar Society at St. Mary’s in South Fork, American Legion Auxiliary in Hawkins and later in Ladysmith being the longest active member for 52 years. She was a devout Catholic, an active walker and could be seen every morning about 6:30am on the streets of Hawkins. She also liked to play cards, travel, garden, read, make maple syrup with her family and was a great cook. She loved to go to all of the activities and rarely missed one. She especially loved to play games and work in the gardens. She had many friends and looked forward to spending time with them. Georgie had a wonderful family and raised incredible children; she must have been an amazing mother. She was so proud of her 4 children, 9 grandchildren, 14 great-grandchildren and 7 great-great grand-children, she looked forward to their visits and loved getting mail and flowers from them. Her room was beautiful and often looked like a green-house. She loved to share her family pictures with our staff.

Edward Gauter- “And on the 8th day God looked down on his

planned paradise and said, “I need a caretaker”, so God made a

farmer.” Farming and family were the things that were most

important to Ed. He loved being outside, caring for his animals

and the land. He loved his family and enjoyed sharing his family

photos. He and his wife, Nancy of 57 years,

raised two daughters Kelly and Kim, they

had 4 grandchildren and 4 great grand-

children. Ed enjoyed old country music

and he loved a good game of bingo. He

loved it when he beat all of the ladies

and won the jackpot! They often

teased him and told him he

couldn’t play anymore, that just

made him smile big and laugh

wholeheartedly!