Eleanor Augusta Kruckow, 90, of Caledonia, passed away peacefully on November 22, 2023.
Eleanor was born on September 19, 1933, in Caledonia, to Rudolph and Edna (Meyer) Schroeder. She was raised on the family farm in Mayville Township and graduated from the rural Mayville Township School.
From a young age, Eleanor enjoyed playing the piano and learned to play the organ. She played organ for local weddings and funerals, and at German and English services for St. John’s Ev. Lutheran Church, where she was a lifelong member. While playing the organ at church she met her future husband, Arnold, who was a church usher. They married on April 12, 1953, raised four children in Caledonia, and were blessed to share 65 years of marriage until he passed in 2018.
Eleanor was a devoted wife, mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother. She worked alongside Arnold in building the family business, Bonanza Grain, Inc. and Kruckow Rock & Redi-Mix. She took great pride in maintaining the company’s books and managing the office. Eleanor never officially retired, supporting the family business as much as she could.
When not working, Eleanor enjoyed spending time cooking/baking in her kitchen and tending to her flowers in the yard. She also enjoyed collecting Ddepression glass and had amassed a large collection of her favorite Lefton China, Green Holly Berry pattern. Eleanor loved listening to music, having coffee while visiting with family and friends, and held dear the memories of the bus trips she went on with her sisters-in-law and friends.
Eleanor drew strength from her faith in God and the principles she learned growing up, which helped her through good times and bad. She will be greatly missed.
Eleanor is survived by three children: Fred (Vicki) Kruckow, Gary (Shirley) Kruckow and Nancy (Joe) Welscher; 11 grandchildren: Alisha (Patrick) Eiken, Amy (Jared) Heaney, Kari (Conor) Bergin, Kevin (Nicole) Kruckow, Jenny Kruckow and Andrew Wilson, Kelly Kruckow and Jeremy Frey, Michael Kruckow, Ashley Kruckow, Julie (Wes) Porter, Kyle (Kayla) Welscher and Brian (Jolene) Welscher; 21 great-grandchildren, her brother John Schroeder, and in-laws Kathy Schroeder, Marlin Kruckow, Lyle (Mavis) Kruckow and Wilma Wiebke; and many nieces and nephews.
Eleanor is preceded in death by her husband and his parents Fred and Louise Kruckow, her son Gene, her parents, her infant sister Evelyn, her brothers Kenneth and Reuben Schroeder, and in-laws Judy Schroeder, Harold and Judy Kruckow, Maxine Kruckow, Lavern Kruckow, Mildred and Stanley Moen, Violet and Lloyd Gaustad, Dorothy and Howard Houlihan, and LuVerne Wiebke.
Funeral services will be held on Saturday, December 2, 2023, at 11 a.m. at St. John’s Ev. Lutheran Church in Caledonia. Burial will follow in Evergreen Cemetery. Visitation will be held on Friday, December 1 from 4-7 p.m. and on Saturday from 10 a.m. until the time of the service, both at church. A luncheon in the church basement will follow the service.
In lieu of flowers, memorials are preferred to St. John’s Ev. Lutheran Church or School.
Fredrickson Funeral Homes and Crematory, Caledonia Chapel, is in charge of arrangements. Online condolences may be offered at www.FredricksonFuneralHomes.com.