Joseph William Ruhland

Joseph William Ruhland, age 89, of Hilbert passed away peacefully at his home with his family by his side on Thursday, October 1, 2020 following a long courageous battle with cancer. Joseph was born on February 18, 1931 in Chilton to the late Isadore and Anita (Schneider) Ruhland.

Joseph knew how to live life to its fullest and will always be remembered as a hardworking, humble, and dedicated man. These attributes extended to his family, his community, and his country.

Joseph began working on the family farm at a very young age and continued working there throughout most of his life.

On June 26, 1956 he married Karen L. Volkman, she preceded him in death. Joseph and Karen settled down and raised their family in Hilbert where he was actively involved in many organizations including:  Catholic Order of Foresters, Hilbert Lions Club, VFW in Chilton, St. Vincent de Paul and St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Hilbert.

Joseph was very proud to have served in the army from July 1956 to April 1958 during the Korean War. He proudly wore his Korean War Veteran cap and often times enjoyed a free drink or lunch from someone thanking him for his service.

It was not uncommon to run into someone and have them say “I saw your dad out walking today”. He walked 4 miles a day rain or shine up until the day his body would no longer allow him to. He also greatly enjoyed bowling and could be found a few nights a week at the bowling alley. Here he enjoyed his social time with countless friends and family.  One of his fondest memories was for his 89 ^th birthday his family and friends surprised him on his bowling night and brought a cake to share. The entire bowling alley stopped and sang to him and he just couldn’t believe they did that for him.  The only thing that could have made his night better is if there would have been ice cream with that cake. Those that knew him know he loved his ice cream. It was not uncommon for him to be scouring the ads for ice cream sales, and he would drive miles out of his way to save a buck on a gallon of his favorite treat. If he couldn’t sleep at night, he would get up and eat a bowl of ice cream and go back to bed.

Truly though, the most treasured memories Joseph had were his family vacations. One week every year for the past 10 years he and his children would venture off to some great destination. There were so many memories made and stories to be told. He would always say he just truly enjoyed watching his kids have fun doing all the stupid things kids do.

Joseph will be greatly missed by many friends and most of all his loving family. Joseph is survived by two sons: Brian(Kriste) Ruhland of Mansfield, TX, Jeff (Jori) Ruhland of Neenah: three daughters; Lynn (Eric) Bornemann of Hilbert, Beth (Mike) Behnke of Potter, Brenda (Curt) Schultz of Brillion; a daughter-in-law: Sue Ruhland of Chilton; twelve grandchildren: Daniel and Lauren Bornemann, Jamie Barrette, Andrea (Mario) Ramirez, Kevin Ruhland, Kennedy and Grant Ruhland, David and Taylor Brochtrup, Isaac Schultz, Tanner and Alexa Ruhland; two great-grandchildren, Cristian Ramirez and Easton Bornemann; three sisters, Donna Jensen, Ruth (John) Moses, Barb (Bob) LeCaire; two brothers: Leon (Pat) Ruhland, Paul (Diane) Ruhland, two brother-in-laws: Richard Volkman and Howard Fochs; and one sister-in-law: Alice Ruhland; many nieces and nephews. Joseph is welcomed into heaven by his wife, Karen, two sons: Keith and Todd, his parents, his siblings: Don Ruhland and Rosalyn Fochs, his mother and father-in-law: Edward and Edna Volkman and other relatives

Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 6:00 PM on Monday, October 5, 2020 at St. Mary’s Catholic Church (108 S. 6 ^th St.) in Hilbert with the Rev. Michael Betley officiating.  Military rites will be accorded by VFW Post 3153 of Chilton. Visitation will be from 3:00 PM until 6:00 PM at the church.

The family would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to Theda Care Hospice and all the special friends and family that helped us through this difficult time.

Dad, we will always cherish the moments we had with you. You were a very proud man and we will strive every day to be half the person you were. Love, Your Family

Here is the link for Joe's Funeral Mass:

https://www.tributeslides.com/tributes/show/6XW9SF32DF8X4KK3

Joe's Eulogy from his family:

Joseph William Ruhland, born at home on February 18 ^th , 1931 at 9:45PM and died at home on October 1 ^st , 2020 at 2:43PM surrounded by his loved ones. 89 years of life, that is 32,733 days or 785,592 hours of life.  Where do we even begin to capture all those experiences?

Who was Joseph William Ruhland? He was a man who wore many hats. He was a son, a brother, a classmate, an uncle, a husband, a serviceman, a brother-in-law, a co-worker, a cousin, a farmer, a volunteer, a parishioner, a bartender, a pool shooter, a bowler, a Godfather, a bestman, a mentor/role model, a friend, a father and a grandfather.

He was the first born child (of 8) to the late Isadore and Anita (Schneider) Ruhland. If the walls of that house could talk, I am sure we would have lots of great stories to hear, but we only have a few that we know of that we can share.

Some of his most treasured time with his siblings would have to be the many games of sheepshead played.  Grandpa was always the one who sat very quietly, observing the game and all the cards played as well as the expressions on people’s faces. While everyone else at the table would be busily chatting it up and drinking, it was no wonder he would always go home with the most money. In fact, when setting up for the card game, the family would often set out little dishes for everyone to keep their quarters in and they would just put out a mixing bowl for grandpa. Even when Grandpa was at West Haven for a few short weeks, Donna, Leon, Pat and Joanne went to visit to play sheepshead. Grandpa started the day with $5 out of his petty cash. Over the course of the day Donna was texting my Mom saying he could not lose a game of sheepshead. When mom went to visit him that evening, he started by emptying his pockets so she could take his winnings home.

Grandpa also enjoyed his special trips out to California to visit his sister Donna. He would just love spending time sitting in the sun, going for walks, having cocktails, playing games (of course sheepshead), and just visiting. It was even better when Donna’s kids would come over and join in on the games and conversation. Donna’s daughter-in-laws used to call him “Legs” because the ladies thought he had lovely legs (I suppose walking 4 miles a day has its benefits). On Wednesday night last week, Donna stopped by for her final visit with grandpa. She was talking with him and telling him how much she loved him and will miss him while she brushed her hand through his hair. The bond these two shared was beyond precious.

Speaking of bonds, Grandpa was also very proud of the relationship he had with his brother Leon. They participated in many pool tournaments over the years, but there was one special tournament at Wells where their six person team won first place. However that was not the highlight of the day, it was on the drive home when Leon asked him to be the bestman for his upcoming wedding. Now most of you know that there is a slight age difference between Leon and grandpa, so when they went in for their tux fitting, the attendant was kind enough to ask “so your dad is being fitted for a tux too”. Grandpa felt so honored to being asked by his much younger brother that he talked about it up until his very last days. He had no idea that he meant that much to his brother, so Thank you Leon for making him feel that honor and privilege.

Grandpa’s special connection with his sister Ruth was the in depth conversations they would have regarding their favorite shows “The Young and the Restless” and “The Bold and the Beautiful”.  Allegedly when grandpa was out in California for Joe Moses wedding, they had a bratwurst on the beach and grandpa said it was the best brat he ever had. Not sure if that was true or he was just trying to make Joe feel good. Ruth recalled one time playing cards at 9:00 AM at Donnas and Ruth asked Donna to pour her a shot of Scottish whiskey. She thought grandpa was going to fall out of his chair. He just could not believe that Ruth was drinking a shot at 9:00 in the morning…he was so proud of her.

These just begin to scratch the surface of the many cherished memories he shared with his siblings.

He was also a man of great faith. Church was a very important part of his life and when the kids were younger, it was not always their favorite thing to attend. Mom once cut holes in her socks, hoping that would get her out of going to church. Well it didn’t, in fact, she felt worse after doing so because now she just had to go to church wearing her holy socks.  Beth once had her hand slammed in the car door on the way to church, grandpa took out his handkerchief wrapped it around her hand and told her she would be fine. A favorite childhood memory for the kids was kneeling on the hard kitchen floor while supper was sitting right on the table and saying the entire rosary every day during Lent. Even when grandpa went on vacations or small trips, he was committed to his faith. Growing up the family did an annual trip to Kelly Lake for a week and part of the tradition was pile in the car and head over to Lena to attend the outdoor mass on Saturday afternoon. And of course when the family participated in their 30+ years of Catholic Order of Foresters bowling tournaments, he would always check out where the local parish was and often tagged along with a few of the friends from the Thorp team to attend mass.

Speaking of friends, they always say a mans best friend is his dog. Well he had a few over the years. There was Penny, Porky, Pugdsley and Squirt, but by far, Porky was his best friend. Porky was a German Shepard/Collie mix and he was one of Penny’s offspring. He spent countless hours on the farm alongside the family and then Porky too, had to transition from farm life to city life when Grandpa allowed Grandma to fulfill her dreams of owning her own bar. Living in the hustle and bustle didn’t change much for either of them. They still had their routine. Grandpa would get up early to head to the farm. Porky would get up as well and jump in the back of the truck and head along with him.  Occasionally, Porky would be a little sluggish in the mornings and he would be a bit late for the take off, but he would be running behind the pickup truck as grandpa would be driving down Main Street and grandpa would have to stop the truck long enough for him to catch up and jump up into the back. If Porky was too late though, he somehow figured out how to make his way to the farm anyway. He would just head down the railroad tracks out toward the farm and he would meet him out there on his time. A favorite story of the love this dog had for Grandpa is the time this very church was being built. Grandpa was up on top of the roof helping to put the rooftop on, Porky managed to make his way up to the rooftop of the church, but unfortunately when the days works was done, he just could not figure out how to get back down. They ended up taking a frontend loader up to the rooftop line and easing him into it and lowering him back to the ground safely to the arms of his best friend.

And now to speak to the experiences of being a father and grandfather. When grandpa was asked recently what it was like to become a father, he responded with “becoming a dad was just like having a baby calf, you gotta take care of them.” And his part of the care involved rocking the babies. Well that might have been what he felt his role was, but it was much, much greater than that.

Grandpa was the man we all looked up to. He was the guy his daughters remember holding hands with as they ran to keep up with him on the way out to the barn for chores. He was the guy that held the record for eating the most perch when he would take them to Deno’s for the all-you-can-eat-perch for  their birthday. He was the guy that would let his kids enjoy chocolate malts with him after a night of milking cows. He was the guy the kids enjoyed going with to watch him shoot pool at the Hadi Club (OK maybe it was because he would buy them candy bars and not so much the watching). He was the guy who hugged his kids while they cried over the loss of their brothers and mother, even though he was also experiencing his own grief. He was the guy that told you if your still breathing you can make it to work. He was the guy that would sit down at your table and eat your meal, but not be afraid to tell you “you don’t have to make that again”. He was the guy that told you to make sure when you make his drink you make it so he can taste it. He was the guy that would walk through the house in nothing but his underwear regardless of if it was the night you brought your new girlfriend/boyfriend over to meet him. He was the guy that trained his kids to use the term “wull” and end conversations with “ok thank you gabye”. All these things and so many, many more.

There are just so many memories the kids have to share, but given it is almost kick-off time, we will keep the list short.

Shortly after grandma passed away it was grandpa’s birthday. The kids at the last minute pulled together a spontaneous dinner at Shennigan’s in Sherwood. Everyone was able to make it to dinner and we all enjoyed a special evening with grandpa. At the end of dinner when the waitress came with the bill, we were all fully expecting to split the bill, just like every other holiday dinner with grandpa. However grandpa ended up taking care of the bill and we joked a bit about if this is what he did for his 79 ^th birthday, what would he do for his 80 ^th . Well 10 years later and after celebrating his birthday with family trips to Hawaii, Punta Cana, Cozumel, Alaska, Costa Rica, Punta Cana (again), Cabo, Bahamas, South Padre Island and Aruba, I would say he upped his game. These trips were so amazing and there were so many memories made. Grandpa was able to check off a few more bucket list items on these trips…even though we are not sure they were truly items on his bucket list. Even for a man in his 80’s, he was not afraid to try anything. He enjoyed deep sea fishing on a boys day out, he went zip lining with the kids, he took a helicopter ride with Rick and headed to the North Pole, he went whitewater rafting in the frigid Alaskan waters even though he was deathly afraid of the water, he ate countless bowls of ice cream, saw lots of amazing shows, drank lots of beverages, played plenty of dominos and shared lots of laughs. Oh and when we could, we were sure to surprise him with a birthday cake (DQ if he was really good). I think the most memorable birthday had to be when all the passengers onboard our flight home sang “Happy Birthday” to him.

Grandpa had many other trips that were special to him including his trip to Washington D.C. with Taylor and his trip to Germany with Brian where they participated in Oktoberfest. He cherished both those trips greatly, as he visited the various memorials and the Holocaust museum in DC and the German concentration camps. Anyone that knows him, knows he loved his history and he loved reading about it too. Some of his favorite books were those about the wars. He also took many other trips just to visit Brian and his family in Texas. While there, he was always treated like a king. Brian and Kriste were certain to feed him all of the finest foods and beverages and they took very good care of him. He always came back home about 10 pounds heavier from his trips down there.

Speaking of gaining weight, both Mom and Beth tried their darndest to keep putting weight on him. He had standing dinner reservations on Tuesday nights at Mom’s and Wednesday’s with Beth.  He enjoyed his dinner nights. Tuesday’s included a lot of good company including Barb McKinney, who often times ended up cooking the meal because Mom was late getting home, and Karen Scharf (Mom’s dear sweet neighbor/friend). Isaac would often provide the after dinner entertainment. There were many games played and prizes awarded. Grandpa always went for the Snickers candy bars when he won the games. On Wednesday’s when Beth cooked for him, she was quite pleased because over time, she did such a good job planning the meals and training him, that he would occasionally have the meal prepared when she got there, so all she had to do was enjoy his company and the meal.

I think it is fair to say we all know how much he enjoyed his ice cream. Well one of Isaac’s favorite memories with his grandpa was the day he and mom took Grandpa on a trip around Lake Winnebago to hit 10 of the best ice cream stops. They only intended on hitting up 7 of the stops because they had already been to Frogg’s and Scoops before and they just decided to skip the Chubby Seagull.  Mom brought dishes and spoons so that they could just get one thing of ice cream and just share it or it would be A LOT of ice cream to consume. Things were going as planned the first three stops but on the fourth stop grandpa jumped out of the car rushed to the counter and ordered his own ice cream. Mom and Isaac ordered one to share and when they sat down to enjoy the treat, mom asked him why he ordered his own. He said well I figured I had to or I wouldn’t get enough on my own. Well after the last stop of the day, he was asking why we didn’t get him the mini instead of the small. On the drive home mom asked him if he enjoyed his day. He said “well it wasn’t on my bucket list, but I really enjoyed it”.

A few of the other great memories to mention, the days on the farm with grandpa, the Fourth of July parades at grandpas- oh the pride he took marching with his fellow veterans, the many games of dominos that he played with Darcy Beyer, bowling for 30+ years with our friends from Thorp in the Catholic Order of Foresters bowling tournament, all his volunteer time with the county and then St. Vincent de Paul. And last but not least, Grandpa may be the only man that could make a roll of dental floss and one box of toothpicks last 89 years and still be able to brag that he has all his own teeth.

So to wrap this up, we all know grandpa put up a good fight. Every day that would go by, we would question where this man was getting his strength to continue on.  Well it finally hit us…every time grandpa got to the pearly gates he probably saw grandma on the other side and it scared the “you know what out of him” and so he rushed back here to us for a few more days.

Well, Grandpa, Poppyseed, Poppa luney, Pops, Smokey Joe, Chowzy, G-Pa, Dad, Daddy, Josie, Joe, or whatever special name (or not so special names…right Leon and Paul) you had for him, you will be missed more than you will ever know. We love you and we are all very fortunate to have you touched our lives in some way. As the final words in your obituary read: You were a very proud man and we will strive every day to be half the person you were.