| Notes |
- Stick with it, never go to bed mad, advises Kimberly couple Geo. Langenhuizens happily married for 60 years By Joyce Schubring Editor editor@timesvillager.com George and Ila Mae Langen-huizen have been happily married a long time by todays standards. The couple will celebrate their 60th wedding anniversary tomorrow, Thursday, with a family dinner at Dorns Supper Club in Kaukauna. Thats a long time, isnt it? George asks rhetorically with a twinkle in his eye. Nobody wants to believe it. I asked him one day if he thought 60 years ago when we were walking up to the altar that hed be here yet this day and still married. He said, That was the least of my thoughts that day, Ila Mae says as she smiles at her husband. Although the couple hasnt given much thought to what makes their own marriage successful, when pressed about what the key ingredients might be, George offers: Stay together, I guess. We didnt think of divorce when we got married. People didnt do that. Ila Mae wont second-guess why some marriages last and others dont, but working together, I guess is the foundation upon which their union is based, she says. Hes got his little chores and Ive got my little chores. It just worked out. The couple has experienced a number of bumps along the road of life and shared the good times and bad, but through it all, their love has endured. George grew up on a farm near Appleton. He and Ila Mae Friebel of Kimberly met by chance on a Sunday afternoon in 1941 at the old Appleton Armory. Call it fate, destiny or kismet, but it was love at first sight, at least for George. A whole group of us went in there (to roller skate) and I saw that one, he says pointing to his soul mate. I guess I grabbed her by the arm. Ila Mae was 15 years old at the time and not allowed to date. Several months later they met again one night at the Cinderella ballroom and we danced and made a date, she says. We went out on my 16th birthday. Thats a long time ago, she says as the memories come flooding back. I told him, Oh, your sister is married to my uncle and that brought on a conversation. All of a sudden, here I am. My uncle is my brother-in-law, she laughs. The young couple dated for about six months before 20-year-old George, who was working at Tuttle Press, was drafted into the army. By that time, they were sure they wanted to spend their lives together, so when George proposed, Ila Mae accepted. As George headed off to war, Ila Mae proudly wore his engagement ring and continued her studies at high school. George, a truck driver, served with the army engineers in Germany and received 5 battle stars during WWII. Back home, Ila Mae worried about her fiancé and feared for his safety. I left her behind and she wrote to me all the time, George says. You know what? Right where she was standing when I left from the railroad depot, thats where she was waiting when I came home three years later in December 1945. He resumed his job at Tuttle Press, earning 92 cents an hour, up from his starting wage of 40 cents an hour so, the couple set their wedding date Feb. 23, 1946. We got married in the winter because in the church, you didnt have weddings during Lent. And we didnt want to wait until Easter. Thats how we picked our date: the last Saturday before Lent, Ila Mae said. A winter wedding is at the mercy of Mother Nature weather-wise, but it was a nice day, George reported. Father Cornelius Vanden Borne married George and Ila Mae at Holy Name Catholic Church in Kimberly. Bridesmaids were Dorothy (Friebel) Langenhizen, Ila Maes sister, and Frances Delfosse, Georges sister; groomsmen were Elmer Delfosse and Ronald Friebel, the brides cousin; and the maid of honor was Lois (Jahnke) Meltz, another of the brides cousins. After the 9 a.m. wedding ceremony, the newlyweds were feted at a luncheon at Ila Maes parents house. The neighbors came in and helped with the meal. Thats the way they done it then, George said. In the afternoon we had a little reception at the Kimberly Clubhouse, and there we had our dinner, Ila Mae said. A lady came into the clubhouse and cooked right there and I had all my girlfriends as waitresses filling plates and dishes and bringing them to the tables. About 9 p.m. the wedding party headed for the Nitingale for the wedding dance. My father was going to deliver our car so we could sneak away to go home when we wanted, Ila Mae said, but he slid on the ice and rammed it into a tree on the way there. He wasnt hurt but he didnt get there until we were in the grand march at 11:30. ... We had to bum a ride home with my in-laws after the dance was over at 1 a.m. We had all kinds of excitement, George said with a smile. The newlyweds lived with her parents, Joe and Regina Friebel, for the first three months of their married lives. Then, they built a house. George worked part time for him (Hofkens Building and Lumber) and that way he got his nose kind of wet about building houses, she said. George left Tuttle Press to work for $1.40 per hour at the Kimberly mill, where he worked hard piling pulp and in the boiler room. Hed work the morning shift, 6 to noon, at the mill, then hed work all afternoon on construction, and at night he was dragging, Ila Mae said. I got used to working with lumber, so I quit the mill (after 3 years) and went into house building, where he could be his own boss, George explained. He started his own business, Langenhuizen Construction, and employed about 5 men part-time. She was my mud mixer, George said affectionately, pointing to his wife. Over the years he built more than 100 2- and 3-bedroom homes in the Fox Valley. In the wintertime, he constructed 4-unit apartment houses. So, we ended up apartment owners and managers in Kimberly for about 20 years, Ila Mae said. Now our kids own them. I sit back now and think how in the hell did I ever do that all. Ill tell you, it was part of our work ethic, George said. I didnt have to have a part-time job because my job was helping out with the apartments, Ila Mae said, taking care of them, renting them out, doing maintenance. I did a lot of painting the walls in my life. Of course, the kids will say, We helped, George quipped. He retired as a homebuilder when he was 51. He turned his attention to managing the apartments full-time so Ila Mae could relax, but he continued woodworking as a hobby. Once you are a carpenter, you are always a carpenter, he said, as he pointed out several pieces of furniture, clocks, shelves, knick-knacks, etc. in the couples home that he has built. The Langenhuizens are the parents of seven children 4 boys and 3 girls: Thomas (Jean), Ronald (Delilah), Lyle, and Mark Langenhuizen; Nancy Langen-huisen, Jane (Vic) Werner Jr. and Lori (Jim) Van Dyke One of their sons lives in Alaska; the rest all are within a 10-mile radius of the couples Kimberly duplex. The 15 Langenhuizen grandkids are Karyn (Rick) Rittenhouse, Bill (Karen) Langenhuizen, Tim Langenhuizen, Jennifer (Jason) Green, Sarah (Lucas) Van Buskirk, Melinda Kadar, Catherine Kadar, Christine Kadar, Michael Werner, Dawn Werner, Michelle Werner, Bill (Angie) Hanselman, Robert Hanselman, George L. Langenhuizen, III, and Lee Langenhuizen. Nine great-grandchildren complete the family circle: Deja Werner, Samantha Green, Peyton Van Buskirk, Chase Hanselman, Peyton Hanselman, Morgan Rittenhouse, Kobi Langenhuizen, Grace Langenhuizen and Amanda Fredrickson. The family loved to travel. We started out when the 2 oldest boys were in service. We went down to see them in a motor home, Ila Mae said. That was in 1967 and we drove until 2 years ago. We wintered in Arizona for 10 years … and we hit every state in the union including Alaska in our motor home. In recent years, George, 84, and Ila Mae, who turns 80 in June, have slowed down, but they feel blessed to be in relatively good health. I probably have one foot in the grave, joked George, who is hard of hearing. He has felt that way, according to his wife, since last winter when he slipped on the ice in the driveway and broke his hip. Afterward George went to a nursing home for rehabilitation. Three weeks later he went back into the hospital for gallstone surgery. It was a bad winter last year, Ila Mae said. Its better this year. She had some health problems in the past, as well. I had heart surgery in 1985 when I was 58 years old and ever since then Ive been exercising more to keep that old heart going. She also had knee replacement surgery. I have 2 new knees. The doctor told me to go in the water for the buoyancy. I go to the Y every morning from 8 to 9. I do water exercises with an instructor. It helps. In addition to going to the Y weekday mornings, Ila Mae enjoys knitting and crocheting. I go to the (Kimberly Municipal) complex, where I meet with the ladies and play cards. While Ila is busy with her activities, George spends much of his time in his shop on woodworking projects. After 60 years of marriage, Georges advice to husbands and wives is to just stick with it through the good times and bad. And never go to bed at night mad, his wife added. He would never let me go to sleep if wed had an argument. Make-up before you go to bed.
- George Langenhuizen, age 88, passed away peacefully at his home on Thursday, September 30, 2010. George was born in Black Creek, WI on January 15, 1922, son of the late George and Adrianna (Van Gennip) Langenhuizen. George met Ila Mae Friebel at a roller skating party in 1941, but since Ila Mae was only 15 years old and not allowed to date, the romance had to wait. On her 16th birthday they had their first date. Only a few months later, George was drafted into the United States Army but proposed marriage to Ila Mae before he left. She accepted and waited. During George's military service he drove truck in an engineering battalion in Germany and received 5 battle stars. He returned home in December, 1945, resuming work at Tuttle Press in Appleton. On February 23, 1946, the couple married at Holy Name Catholic Church in Kimberly. George began working at the Kimberly paper mill then started his own business, Langenhuizen Construction. Employing 5 workers, George erected more than 100 homes in the Kimberly area plus several apartment buildings and duplexes. At age 51 he retired from the construction business and turned his attention to managing his apartments, spending time with his family and working in his wood shop. Over the years George has made hundreds of clocks, shelves and pieces of furniture many of those items have lovingly been shared with family and friends.
Not only was George a talented carpenter, he also owned and restored a 1931 Ford Roadster, which he highly prized. Some of his favorite memories with the car were the days when he drove his newlywed children around in the rumble seat. He and Ila Mae wintered in Arizona for more than twenty years, starting out with a home-made recreational vehicle he built on an Econoline chassis. Their travels included 49 U.S. States; never making it to Hawaii. They also enjoyed numerous fishing trips to Michigan and Minnestoa with family and friends. George was a member of the American Legion Jacob Coppus Post #258, Little Chute.
George is survived by his wife; Ila Mae of Kimberly; and seven children: Tom (Jean) Langenhuizen of Kimberly; Ron (Delilah) Langenhuizen of Palmer, Alaska; Lyle Langenhuizen of Big Falls, WI,; Nancy Langenhuizen of Appleton; Mark (LuAnn) Langenhuizen of Kaukauna; Jane (Vic) Werner of Hortonville; and Lori (Jim) Van Dyke of Kimberly; fifteen grandchildren; Karyn (Rick) Rittenhouse, Bill (Karen) Langenhuizen, Tim Langenhuizen, Jennifer (Jason) Green, Sarah (Lucas) Van Buskirk, Bill (Angie) Hanselman, Bob (Tammy) Hanselman, Melinda (Nick) Lamphere, Catherine (Steve) Johannes, Christina Kadar and fiance' Joe Stiehm, George Langenhuizen and girlfriend Amanda, Lee Langenhuizen, Dawn Werner, Mike (Abby) Werner, and Michelle (Rob) Best. There are also fourteen great-grandchildren: Morgan, Amanda, Kobi, Grace, Samantha, Savanah, Peyton, Liam, Payton, Chase, Hannah, Alaina, Deja, and Brody; one great-great grandchild, Melody. George is also survived by a brother: Harry Langenhuizen of Appleton; two sisters-in-law: Margaret (Jim) Greely of Crandon, WI and Gertrude Langenhuizen of Phoenix, Arizona; a brother-in-law: Richard Friebel, Menasha.
He was preceded in death by his parents: George and Adrianna "Jennie" Langenhuizen; brothers and sisters: Martin Langenhuizen, Frances (Elmer) Delfosse, Jean (Stanley) Hooyman, John Langenhuizen, Bertha (Kenneth) Hooyman, Charles Langenhuizen, Ann (Al) Stevenson, Harriet (John) Weyenberg, a brother-in-law: Romie Friebel and a sister-in-law: Dorothy "Sis" Langenhuizen.
The funeral liturgy for George will be held at 1 p.m. on Saturday, October 2, 2010 at HOLY SPIRIT CATHOLIC CHURCH, 600 E. Kimberly Avenue in Kimberly with Fr. David Beaudry officiating. Friends may call at the funeral home on Saturday from 10 a.m. until 12:45 p.m. at which time the procession will depart for the church. Interment with full military honors will be in the parish cemetery.
The family would like to thank the nurses and CNA's of Theda Care At Home Hospice with special thanks to George's granddaughter, Dawn, for her nursing care and expertise with her grandfather, and to Julie Van Hoof for her spiritual support.
Jansen Fargo
Funeral Home
204 E. Kimberly Avenue
Kimberly 788-6202
Online condolences
www.wichmannfargo.com
|
1922 - 2010 (88 years)
