Dorothy Jane Brundege

Mom was born June 25, 1919 in Superior, Wisconsin. She was the oldest of three siblings and the longest lived in her family. She was very proud of where she came from and often spoke of the rough winters and how tough you had to be to get through them. She often told the story of how she argued with her father because she wanted to go ice skating in the bitter cold and he wouldn’t allow it. Back in her day, there were no indoor ice skating rinks but she truly loved skating and shared that love with both her daughter and later, her granddaughter. She grew up in a home shared with her grandparents, Cora and Edward Flarity and was particularly proud of her Irish heritage. Her Grandfather Flarity was a special favorite and the grandparent we most commonly remember her telling us about. She had a pair of red boots that she wore when she would follow him around in his garden. He would go out on the roof top at Christmas time and put “hoof” marks in the snow so she would believe that Santa had been there. She loved Christmas though she would often deny it, saying that it required so much anticipation but was over too fast. From her grandmother, she learned many of the sayings that will always remind us of her: “A leopard never changes its spots” “What’s good for the goose is good for the gander” “Handsome is as handsome does” “You made your bed now lie in it” “That’s a bunch of malarkey” “You’re full of prunes” “A streetcar comes along every minute… there are lots of pebbles on the beach…. Plenty of starfish in the sea…” Mom came from a time when meals were cooked in a wood burning stove, refrigeration was provided by a block of ice delivered on a regular basis, cars were started with a crank and not a key and money was hard to come by. There were no antibiotics, only mustard plasters. She lived through the Great Depression when her father was not paid for working for the Government and oh how she loved her father. She loved to tell stories of his work as a prohibition agent and his part in tracking Al Capone as well as how he told her to go to school and tell the class about an animal called “The Side Hill Gouger” which she dutifully relayed to her teacher. Fortunately for Mom, the teacher knew who “planted’ that story in her head because she had taught him too. She lived through World War II and told us how food and nylon were rationed. She heard Franklin Delano Roosevelt talk about the War over the radio because there was no television yet. And oh yes, we were always reminded that her father hated FDR although we never were told why but let’s just say she fully believed that everyone should vote for the Grand Old Party and was a die-hard Republican. Another of her loves was for the Chicago Bears and all things Mike Ditka. She would become totally ballistic if you insulted her Bears as one of her “grandson-in-laws” well knows. There was no middle ground there. On her 90th birthday, we took her to a Bears game and she attended with joy in all her regalia. It was the best way she could have celebrated. For a woman who rarely uttered a swear word in her life, it was amazing to see how much she enjoyed seeing Mike Ditka use a few choice words on his players when he was the Bears’ coach. She married our Dad in 1948 and they celebrated 61 years together. As he worked long night time hours, she really was “the boss of us” kids growing up and there was little reason to question her because it could become very painful if you did. Still, she managed to raise three productive, educated kids. She taught us to love God, to believe in Jesus, to seek a good education and to know right from wrong. She taught us about loyalty. She taught us what being stubborn really means. She lived by her convictions and once her mind was made up, you knew it. She taught us to love the Northwoods of Wisconsin, God’s Country as she called it. She was like a little kid as we prepared to vacation there every year. She always said it was us kids who were excited but she probably was excited enough for all of us. She made sure we all played in the band in high school and was in the front row for every football game and every performance. We always had a snack ready for us when we got home from school whether she was home or not, that snack was on the table. She taught us that a mother’s love knows no bounds. She might not have agreed with our decisions sometimes but if we needed her, we always knew she would be there for us. Growing up, Friday night was always pop corn night and Saturday nights were meant for pizza. Sundays meant you went to church. Dessert was always to be found in our house, most often made from scratch chocolate cake or ice cream. Nobody enjoyed deviled eggs more than mom and given the choice between hamburgers and hot dogs, it was always a hot dog with mustard and no ketchup. Chocolate of any kind was always a welcome treat for her. Judy, her daughter in law, made sure she had a full bag in her bedside drawer when she moved to Evergreen Manor. One of the wonders of having dementia is that when you open the drawer, the chocolate being in it was always a surprise. She loved music and most of all she loved Frank Sinatra. We all think the song, “My Way” was written about her. Her memories faded with time but she stayed true with her love for “Frankie” as she called him every time she saw his face on one of her CDs. She loved books and loved to read which she passed on to her daughter, and another of her granddaughters and now to some of her great-grandchildren we hope. She always wanted to hear about what the grandkids were up to and enjoyed every visit they made no matter how far apart those visits were. And no story of mom’s life would be complete without mentioning how much she loved our dog. She spoke of Randy (the dog we grew up with) for as long as she lived, literally. And if we brought our dog Chevy to see her that was something that always lit up her face right up to the last visit he made. Mom lived on her own terms until only 3 months ago. She fought the good fight. She ran the race to the finish and now she is in Heaven hearing, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” Dorothy Jane Brundege was preceded in death by her parents and sister. She is survived by her brother, William, her three children, William Brundege (Judy), Robin Lapham (Mark), and Robert Scott Brundege as well as 5 grandchildren and 4 great grandchildren.