Mary Hagel Kruse

Mary Hagel Kruse, 102, of Moline, IL, passed away peacefully on Sunday, October 22, 2023, at Friendship Manor, Rock Island, IL.

Services will be at 12:00 p.m. Friday, October 27, 2023, at Trinity Lutheran Church 1330 - 13th Street Moline, IL, with a visitation prior to service beginning at 10:00 a.m. Burial will be at Rock Island National Cemetery on Arsenal Island, and military honors will be conducted.

Memorials may be made to Trinity Lutheran Church, Lutheran World Relief, or a charity of your choice.

Mary was born in Moline on December 28, 1920, to William and Rose (Sandrock) Hagel. She graduated from Moline Senior High School class of 1939. During World War II, Mary enlisted in the WAVES, attended officer training school at Smith College, and served in Newport, RI.

Mary received her BA in economics from the University of Iowa in 1947. On November 23, 1949, she married Merle "Pete" Kruse. During her career, she worked at Frank Foundries and Deere and Company.

In the 1950s, Mary and Pete lived in various states, as well as in Santiago, Chile, and in 1958, they settled back in their hometown of Moline, IL.

She was a member of AAUW, Trinity Lutheran Church, and Moline Senior Center and actively volunteered for various organizations involving seniors, children, and refugee families. She enjoyed playing bridge, sewing, watching tennis, foreign films, crossword puzzles, and travel.

Survivors include daughters, Merriel Kruse, Madison, WI, and Michele Kruse, Evanston, IL; son Mark (Daniela Val) Kruse, Evanston, IL; grandchildren: Dr. Michael Fettiplace, Zoe Kruse, and Matias Kruse; great-grandson, Callum Fettiplace, numerous nieces, nephews and extended family.

She was preceded in death by her husband, grandson David Fettiplace, parents, and siblings, Kathleen Filbert, Audrey Ann Hagel, Ardath Bridge, Donna Peery, Patricia Hagel, Bill Hagel, Norman Eugene Hagel, and Jerry Hagel.

Family and friends are invited to express online condolences at wendtfuneralhome.com.

Mary Margaret Hagel Kruse Eulogy 10-27-23

Welcome, everyone, and thank you for coming today to celebrate the long life of Mary Hagel Kruse. As her youngest child I hope I can paint a picture of her as I remember her.

She was from a large family of 9 children, 7 who lived to adulthood, which created 21 nieces and nephews, 7 more when she married our dad Pete. And she out-lived her siblings by so many years that she became everyone’s favorite aunt, and only aunt. She became a great aunt many times over, so excuse me if I refer to her as Aunt Mary.

And she is that very last of her generation – and our family link to the Great Depression and WWII. Living to 102, she is iconic to say the least.

She grew up poor in the Depression in a loving family. She loved all of her siblings deeply. Life wasn’t easy then and she instilled in us not to take material things for granted. She told me a story from her life in the 1920s and 30s:

- Families were so large growing up on 29th Avenue that they often played games with big crowds like Kick the Can and Capture the Flag. “You know, Mark, in the days before radio”. “What do you mean, Mom, in the days before radio?” “Well, you know when the radio came out you had to be home to listen to your favorite shows, like the Green Hornet”.

So what was my mother like?

Aunt Mary was a lot to look up to when I was young. I could tell she had looks, brains and a big smile, and demanded good behavior and manners. And I knew that she had a different life until I came along. She was loving and present – Moms always seem to be in the kitchen – but until I was born Aunt Mary and family lived in exotic places, like the big cities of Philadelphia, Pittsburg and Detroit, and the great west - Texas, Nevada and Washington State – and their year in Santiago, Chile, where mom had a housekeeper and nanny. It all sounded like a glamorous life. I am certain this fueled my wanderlust to see our country and the world.

When I was in grade school every day we went home for lunch. Beginning in 2nd Grade, I had my mother all to myself for an hour Monday through Friday. My best memory of these years was our time braiding and baking Swedish Cardamon coffee cake from a Kruse family recipe. I wish you could smell the cardamon in our house and why I ran home from school faster on those days for bread fresh out of the oven.

By the time I was in high school I was an only child at home, and my parents were mad bridge players. I would be going off to a movie or a basketball game, and my parents would be hosting a bridge party. I say “party” but there was no music, alcohol, or even much conversation. Walking through our living room was more like walking through a library. Decades later, when my mom was a widow, she played bridge four days a week. That social connection, and the mental agility of bridge, extended her life, in my opinion.

Later, she became a home-maker extraordinaire as a seamstress and made a lot of clothes, re-upholstered our sectional sofa, and sewed goose-down feather “puffer coats” in the 1970s. (These were the days before Patagonia and the North Face). She didn’t always like patching my faded and torn blue jeans as a teenager, but she also did so with love. Later when I began woodworking and building tables, bookcases, a desk, a bed, an armoire and such - I realized I developed those skills from watching her choose fabric, follow a pattern and pay attention to the details to achieve the desired result. Thanks Mom.

Aunt Mary took care of others and set an example of how to “give back”. When I was in junior high school she was a bedside tutor – a one-on-one teacher to those my age who were in poor health and couldn’t go to school. Later, she cared for our grandmother and then our grandmother’s neighbor and best friend, Goldie, who was childless and was like another aunt or grandmother to all the Hagels. I know these examples influenced me and my career choices in public service and affordable housing.

She kept abreast of the news and loved reading TIME magazine, which I learned to do. We used to read the movie reviews and lament at all the cool movies that would never come to Moline. When I moved to the big city, my parents were able to visit often to see the Chicago Film Festival and Steppenwolf Theatre.

Our parents learned to ski in the Andes. When I about 12 I began pestering my parents about the old skis in the garage. Aunt Mary was game to take up skiing again and we soon took weekend trips to Wisconsin so that I could learn to ski – her favorite compliment that was given her by others on the slopes from those years was “wow, I hope I am skiing when I am your age”. She indulged many of my interests

Mom was stubborn and swore for years that she had no use for a computer. Then, at 90, we gave her an iPad, and her life was renewed. Now she had a new place to do crossword puzzles, research, read the news and play Euchre. She was a convert. The lesson is to have your principles, but to be flexible and keep up with the times.

Aunt Mary was a sports fan later in life – but not your Cubs, Cardinals or Hawkeyes-type. She preferred long events to short-term games. When I was in HS and played tennis all 4 seasons, Mom took an interest in and credited me for her passion for the game. She loved a 2-week tournament like Wimbledon or the US Open and could watch for days at a time. She is the only other tennis fan I know – and I will miss having our conversations, including how much she loathed the World’s #1 player Novak Djojavic.

In later years my mom thanked me for introducing her to the 3-week Tour de France, which become one of her favorite sporting events. Our relationship came full circle. I think my mom was the greatest influence in shaping my life, but, as the years went by, I think I shaped her interests and influences as well.

If you are smart and live to be almost 103 – you are undoubtedly wise. My last story was from decades ago – I was explaining to her a work problem I was having and she responded “Mark, that’s just NIMBYism. Some people don’t care what changes happened in their community before they arrived, but they don’t want anything to change once they purchase a home and establish roots”. I was flabbergasted that my mom knew the acronym for “Not In My Back Yard” years before it was commonly known, and her ability to summarize the root issue – and I quoted her many times at work.

I will miss you, Mom, and all of the conversations we will no longer enjoy.