Jacqueline Mirwaldt

Jacqueline Mirwaldt... Just after 12 noon on Tuesday, July 28, 2020, Jacqueline Mirwaldt exhausted her nine lives. Born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada on May 18, at the end of the Great Depression, Jackie, as she was known affectionately, would spend her childhood at Assiniboia Downs feeding and watching the horses. She loved horses and was a curler and bowler. A very proud Canadian, she would remain a Canadian citizen her entire life and was always a strong follower of Canadian sports and news from her hometown. As a teen she would go with friends to watch local soccer which is how she met her husband of 61 years, Kuno. After a brief courtship, they were married in 1957. In those days, the first home was often with immigrant parents so they moved into the Mirwaldt family home. Earning wages and sharing them was a part of life in those early years even when it was tough to do. Three of her four children would be born in Canada before they made their way out of Canada and into the United States where they would build their lives together. In Indiana, Jackie was able to be at home with her four kids and prepare her amazing recipes like cabbage rolls, spatzle, pierogies, cherry torte and cheesecakes. As the kids grew older, she became more involved in their activities like watching her children play Wildcat baseball, hockey and soccer. She got back into sports herself when she joined a bowling league where she carried a 180 plus average. Just like meeting Kuno, it was once again through soccer that her family would expand. In support of her husband’s love of coaching their eldest son, she became a second mother to dozens and dozens of men who played soccer for the Fort Wayne Settlers. You would not only see Jackie pacing the sideline next to the team, you would see her celebrating with them long after the games were done. The life of the party Jackie would host and entertain in the family home where she would be the best audience for your joke, and ready with her quick wit and charm. Legendary are the stories of her matching the players shot for shot of tequila after the game. Jackie wasn’t just the center and the bright light in the lives of her family, but in all she met. She never forgot a birthday or wedding anniversary from close family members to those guys from the team. She had an amazing memory for people’s names, their children’s names and events that happened big and small. Long before Prince, Jackie elevated the color purple with her wardrobe and her home. It would be hard pressed to find anyone who knew Jackie and didn’t correlate her with purple. Along with an addiction to Food Network, she read and collected recipes for everything from desserts to dinners up until her final days. She loved baking just as much if not more than cooking and not only kept her son and husband’s office full of pies, cakes and treats but would do the same for her favorite staff at the Cork & Cleaver and so many of her family and friends. One of the things you could count on was her weekly social outings. Thursdays you would find she and Kuno at Casa Grille and Fridays for decades at the Cork. After he passed last year, she wasn’t about to stop her life. She wanted to spread her wings and keep living. Jackie had cheated death on more than one occasion, so she cherished and looked forward to everyday. She survived Legionnaires Disease in 1996 following three weeks in a coma. She didn’t skip a beat although she likely lived with long term effects of the disease. Later in life she was also diagnosed with amyloidosis causing the need for dialysis a few days a week. Yet again, never a complaint. And on Halloween 2018, she woke up letting us know she heard everything that was being said while doctors thought she was in a coma and dying. Saying she was strong or that she was a fighter is an understatement. She flat out refused to give up even when the doctors advised hospice. Her response to them was, “I’m not ready.” Active on Facebook reposting recipes and funny cat videos even at the end, one of her posts that stood out was one from Erin Wade that said, I don’t know how my story will end, but nowhere in the text will it ever read… “She gave up.” There is not one person who met her who will not miss her. You cannot say that for many people, but you can with Jackie. She loved life and fought like mad to stay in this world. So as a family we ask you to raise a glass to the strength and resilience of wife, mother, grandmother, mother-in-law, aunt, sister and friend. Cheers. Jackie was preceded in death by her husband Kuno. She is survived by her daughters Katrina (Mark) Waltmire, Pamela (Tom) Fields, sons Curtis (Sofia Rodriguez) Mirwaldt and Brad (Valerie) Mirwaldt. Her Grandchildren Kendra (Michael) Ludwig, Samantha (Austin) Harrison, Chandler Fields, her sister, Geraldine Haufschild, Brother-in-law Gunter (Doris) Mirwaldt, Sister- in-laws Hannelore (Lore) Mahyles and Irene Dzinkowski, many nieces, nephews, cousins and her beloved cat Holly. Purple flowers are welcome, but you may also make a donation to Allen County Cancer Society, NE Indiana Honor Flight or your favorite animal shelter. Funeral service will be 1:30 pm, Saturday, August 8, 2020, at Hockemeyer Miller Funeral Home, 6131 St. Joe Center Road, Fort Wayne, with calling one hour prior. To view the livestream, go to the Hockemeyer Miller Facebook page. Calling also Friday August 7, 2020, from 2-4 and 6-8 pm. To sign the online guestbook, please visit www.homemeyermillerfh.com.