Ellen Kutzleb, Appleton, joined her heavenly Father on Tuesday, November 2, 2021 at her home at Carolina Assisted Living. She was born on May 27, 1929 to the late Louis and Anna Strey in West Bloomfield, WI. Ellen married Ralph Hofberger in 1949 where they lived on a farm near Mackville. They were blessed with 3 children. That marriage later ended. She married Eugene Kutzleb in 1975 where they lived in Appleton. He preceded her in death in 1984. Ellen was a nurse at Appleton Medical Center from 1963-2005, where she formed many friendships. She retired as fulltime in 1994 but continued to work on call and as a volunteer for many years after. She began as an OB Aide and later, ICU. In 1992 she was the honored recipient at the Ambassador ceremony at AMC. She was a member of the American Association of Critical Care Nurses and founding member of the Fox River Valley Chapter. Her hobbies included western dance, gardening, playing cards and bingo.
Ellen was loving and kind, ruthless and lovingly ridiculous; she was loyal and funny, a worrier and often meticulous.
She loved to save, she was financially brilliant; she was tough and brave and completely resilient.
She loved to play cards and eat meals with friends; she made lists about lists and still might forget in the end.
She was a child, a mother, a great grandmother and more; she was a friend, a child of God and everything you could ask for.
Ellen is survived by her children, Randy (Sue) Hofberger, Burlington, WI; Joni (Greg) Mathewson, New London, WI; and Lynn (Larry) Klotzbuecher, Scandinavia, WI. She is also survived by four grandchildren and seven great grandchildren, Trapper (Heather) Danke and their son Griffin; Josh (Mindy) Danke and their sons Wyatt and Ryker; Meadow (Ted) Dorsey and their children Rozalyn and Raddox; Lindsey (Charlie) Spiegelberg and their sons Rhett and Sawyer. Ellen also leaves behind many cousins, friends and her fellow residents.
Family and friends may visit on Monday, November 8, 2021, at Valley Funeral Home, 2211 N Richmond St., Appleton from 10:00am until 10:45am, with service time at 11:00am, Pastor Jeff Tengesdal officiating. Interment will be at Concordia Cemetery in West Bloomfield, Wisconsin. In lieu of flowers or other expressions of sympathy, memorials can be directed to Lutheran Social Services at https://www.lsswis.org in Ellen’s memory.
The family would like to thank all of the staff at Carolina Assisted Living, where their mom resided for the past five years. Many became a second family to her with their uncompromised care and sincere concern. The family would also like to express sincere appreciation to the staff of AseraCare Hospice Care for the love and compassionate care that they showed Mom.
Mom, we will miss your spunk and sass, your own style of generosity, and your love, all of which will give us numerous memories and great stories to share with each other until we meet you again.