James "Todgie" McCuskey DeWolf

James McCuskey "Todgie" DeWolf, age 83, passed away May 7, 2025. Todgie was born March 10, 1942, in Wheeling, West Virginia. He moved to Euclid, Ohio in 1945 and was raised in the Briardale Projects. He attended Noble Elementary School, Shore Jr. High, and graduated from Euclid Sr. High in 1960. Todgie was employed by the Bailey Meter Co., Addressograph-Multigraph Co., and retired from the Cleveland Police Dept. in 1990. He was a US Army Veteran, serving in Vietnam in 1966 as a radio operator, and was a member of VFW Post 3863. Todgie was also an avid fisherman and boater. He is survived by his daughter Cynthia (Gary) Krogmann; sons Todgie DeWolf and Shawn (Mindee) Waltz; half-brothers Tim (LeAnna) DeWolf, Dale (Judy) DeWolf, David (Cindy) David, and Laughlin (Virginia) Johnson; half-sister Edith Johnson (Ronald) Blazina; grandchildren Eric Krogmann, and Isaac and Bennett Marie Waltz. He is preceded in death by his wife Gloria Jean (nee Chetnik), whom he married on June 7, 1966, in Willoughby; grandson Ryan Krogmann; mother Rosemary Winesburgh (DeWolf) (David); father Kelsey Johnson; grandmother Margaret (McCuskey) Winesburgh, who raised him; and stepfathers Charles DeWolf and Max David. "Until the next great adventure: KLAATU - BARADA - NIKTO."

Family and friends may call at Gattozzi and Son Funeral Home, 12524 Chillicothe Rd., Chesterland on Monday, May 12, 2025, 4-7 pm, where a Prayer Service will follow at 7:00 pm. Procession formed for Interment at Lost Nation Road Cemetery at 10:00 am Tuesday, May 13, 2025 at the funeral home. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to your local VFW and American Legion. Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.gattozziandson.com for the DeWolf family.

In Todgie's words.....

This is my story and I'll tell it my way. Our families and friends gave us less than three months before we would be divorced. Most of those families and friends are now divorced and Gloria and I are still together. The wisest decision in my life was to marry Gloria. She made my life rich and full and I dearly love her, although I don't express my emotions very well.

After Vietnam I went to work for the Addressograph-Multigraph Corp. in Euclid, Ohio, as a stock clerk. The pay was good but the job was very boring. I even contemplated going back to Vietnam as I was having a hard time adjusting to civilian life. I was in downtown Cleveland to apply for college courses with the Veterans Administration when I heard on the radio that the Cleveland Police Dept. was accepting applications. I signed up for testing and was hired on April 1, 1967. I worked Basic Patrol in the 6th Dist., 5th Dist., Communications Unit, 5th Dist. Detective Bureau and retired from the 5th Dist. Administrative Unit on April 16, 1990, after 28 years of service. I have not worked another day since then. Most of my time was spent as a "field training officer" with the new recruits in the 5th Dist.

My daughter, Cynthia "Cindy" Louise DeWolf, was born Dec. 20, 1966, in Euclid, Ohio. She married Gerard "Gary" Walter Krogmann on May 9, 1987 in Willowick, Ohio. They have two sons, Eric Gerhard Krogmann, born Dec. 3, 1991, and Ryan James Krogmann, born July 29, 1996. Ryan died on Nov. 12, 2022 in Chesterland, Ohio. My son, Todgie James DeWolf, was born Oct. 18, 1970, in Euclid, Ohio. My son, Shawn Tye Waltz, was born 24 Jan 1970 in Willoughby, Ohio and adopted at birth by Leroy Alden Waltz, Jr. and Barbara Louise Berkey. Shawn's mother, Peggy Ann Dickerson, born 30 Aug 1946 in Altoona, Pennsylvania. Shawn married Mindee Sue Howard on 24 Oct 1996 and have two children, Isaac "Ike" Sebastian Waltz and Bennett Marie Waltz.

After retirement, I purchased a new 1990, 25 ft., Regal Lake Fisherman and named her "GLORY-US" and joined the Chagrin River Yacht Club. I became an avid fisherman and supplied our yacht club and neighbors with fresh walleye and perch for the next ten years. My wife is still referred to as "Gloryus" or "Grandma Glo." We traveled the entire length of the Ohio River in 1993, and got stuck at Cairo, Illinois, because of the worst flood in the history of the Mississippi River. We changed direction and went up the Tennessee River and vacationed in the Kentucky-Tennessee Lakes for the next three weeks. It was the best vacation of our lives.

We also tent camped at Camp Chautauga, NY, in July for 13 years. We caught our share of muskies. Gloria always caught the larger fish. My children learned how to water ski there. Every Monday night was "Buffalo Wings" at the Casino.

I developed P.A.D. (peripheral artery disease) in the summer of 2000 and had several operations to save my left leg. I was forced to give up fishing, boating, golf and other physical activities. I turned my attention to researching my McCuskey family tree. My grandmother, Margaret Grace (McCuskey) Winesburgh, started researching her family tree just before she died in 1971. She left a list of 60 relatives and notes from the 1939 McCuskey reunion in Wheeling, West Virginia. I thought at that time I could finish my grandmother's research in six months to a year. There is still no end in sight after spending at least twenty hours per week on research for the past twenty plus years. There are over 5,000 pages of McCuskey data and it keeps on growing. I've enjoyed every minute of the research and have met many interesting and talented relatives at several McCuskey reunions. I plan to donate copies of our McCuskey family tree book to various libraries when and if completed.

Our house in Eastlake burned on Dec. 8, 2019. We relocated to the Maywood Senior Citizen Community located in Chesterland, Ohio. This place is a blessing for us.

I do not drive, so I rely on my daughter for transportation; shopping, doctors visits, restaurants, etc.

Life has been very kind to me and mine. I hope we meet again in the next great adventure. Until then - Klaatu Varada Nikto

Autobiography: 10 Mar 2025

James McCuskey DeWolf, that's me, was born March 10, 1942, in Wheeling, West (by God), Virginia at the Ohio Vailey General Hospital.

I was given the nickname "Todgie" before I was born and that name stuck with me all my life. Todgie is a derivative of "little boy" in Gaelic. Most of my friends never knew my first name was James.

I lived with my grandmother and mother at 1148 Water St., in Wheeling, until we moved to Euclid, Ohio, in 1945. Our first address in the Euclid Estates was 24072 Hackett Dr., and would be one of five addresses where I lived in the Estates for the next twenty-three years. My last address was 551 East 242 St., when my wife and I were evicted so the City of Euclid could build a public golf course.

Euclid Estates was commonly called the Briardale Projects or affectionately the "Briar Patch" by its residents. The patch was built by the government to house World War Il workers and consisted of about six-hundred units, averaging two children per unit. The patch was a great place to raise children. I still remember most of the children my age and exactly where they lived. Not a week goes by that my mind doesn't wander into the past and my carefree youth in the patch. There was always a baseball game in progress like the movie "Sandlot."

My natural father was Kelsy Johnson who joined the Navy at the beginning of World War ll. He never made any attempt to contact me or my mother after the war. My mother, Rosemary Winesburgh, married Charles DeWolf on July 13, 1946, and then Max David on Feb. 11, 1957, both in Euclid, Ohio. I moved in with my grandmother, Margaret (McCuskey) Winesburgh, when my mother married Max David. I lived with my grandmother until I entered the Army in 1966. I will never forget those wonderful nine years and the influence my grandmother had on my life.

The DeWoIf family moved to a sparsely settled village at 29120 Norman Ave., Wickliffe, Ohio in 1947, and remained there until 1951. I only attended Wickliffe kindergarten for a few days and refused to return. The teacher called me James instead of Todgie and I figured they weren't too smart if they couldn't get my name correct. I was always hitchhiking or walking back to the Briardale Projects at the age of six. There were lots of kids there to play with and they all knew my name was Todgie.

The remainder of my education was in Euclid. I attended Noble Elementary, Shore Jr. High and graduated from Euclid Sr. High in 1960. I enjoyed school and graduated in the upper half of my graduating class with little or no effort. I was too busy "having fun" to study. I enjoyed sports and was always first string in wrestling from the eighth through the twelfth grade. I never was serious about sports as the "having fun" kept getting in the way.

The years between 1960 and 1964 were good times. I went to work for the Baily Meter Co., in Wickliffe, Ohio, the day after graduation and worked there as a shipping clerk till I was drafted into the U.S. Army in 1964. I was out every night partying, dating, or just "cruising" with friends. I bought a brand-new Pontiac, my first new car, in 1963, for $2,735, and the good times continued. All this came to a crashing to an end when two F.B.I. agents showed up at work and wanted to know why I never reported for my physical for induction into the military. I was released by the U.S. Attorney General for my delinquency and was on my way to Ft. Knox, Kentucky, Sept. 6, 1964, for basic training. My life would forever change on that date.

I had an emergency appendectomy the second week of basic training and was sent home for ten days to rest. I returned and finished my thirteen weeks of basic training when the CO., a 2nd Lt. about my age, called me to his office. He said "Pvt. DeWolf, you would graduate tomorrow but your Sergeant feels that you used that piece of paper in your pocket to excess." He was referring to my medical profile paper that I carried excusing me if I didn't feel up to marching, calisthenics, waiting in line, etc. I used that paper quite often during the first thirteen weeks and never waited in line for chow. There was very little my Sergeant could do at that time but "paybacks" were soon coming. I was recycled back to zero week and another thirteen weeks of basic training.

I was then transferred to Radio School at Ft. Knox, Radio Teletype School at Ft. Gordon,

Georgia, the Infantry at Ft. Hood, Texas, and finally the 595th Signal Battalion at Ft. Devans, Massachusetts. The 595th departed for Vietnam in March of 1966, where I spent the remainder of my military service. I try to forget what I saw in Vietnam, but it surfaces every now and then. I have a flagpole in my front yard to honor the men of the 595th and my Sergeant, Will Ryan. His name is on the Vietnam Memorial Wall.

I met my wife, Gloria Jean Chetnik, on a blind date while home on leave from Ft. Hood. Our first date was at the Willowick Tavern in Willowick, Ohio, where she beat me at every game of pool that we played. I had never been beaten by a woman at anything. I returned to Ft. Hood and played pool every chance I found. She never again beat me at pool.

They say opposites attract and Gloria and I are complete opposites. I sometimes believe we don't even speak the same language. Our friends sometimes refer to us as the "Bickersons." We were married on June 7, 1966, in Willoughby, Ohio, while I was home on leave. Gloria was a very lucky girl as I was the ideal husband. Gloria died on Dec. 15, 2024. I miss her every day!