Gladys L. Van De Vrande

Gladys van de Vrande (nee Rueckert) passed away at her home on February 21, 2009. She was born on September 3, 1922 on a farm near Bonduel, Wisconsin. After high school she followed her sister Alice to Chicago where Gladys contributed to the war effort by working as a riveter at Douglas Aircraft. When she moved to Florida after the war, she worked at the Versailles Hotel where she met and married Cornelius (Casey) van de Vrande on May 7, 1947. They moved to Houston, Texas where they had their first daughter, Valerie, and then settled in northern Ohio where they had their two more daughters, Karen and Carla. Gladys worked for the U.S. Postal Service for over thirty years, first in Lakeside and then in Port Clinton as a window clerk. She retired in 1985 and began to travel the world with her special friend, Herb Schumaker until his death in 2003. Gladys was preceded in death by her husband Casey and oldest daughter Valerie Schroff, her sisters Alice Rueckert and Marion Di Labio, and her brothers, Ivan, Rudy and Lester Rueckert. Mourning the loss of their mother is Carla Chapman of Port Clinton and Karen van de Vrande of New York, NY; their mother-in-law, James Chapman of Port Clinton and Robert Schroff of Kansas; their grandmother, Jonathan (Kim) Schroff and Karl (Rene) Schroff of Kansas, and their great-grandmother, Alexander, Rachel, Rebecca, Casey Jane, and Elizabeth all of Kansas. Gladys loved her home and yard, her family, her many friends and her grandma's girl, Nona, her daughter's dog in New York. She was active in the Mary Martha Circle at St. John's Lutheran Church and with the Humane Society of Ottawa County. She would want us to give a special thanks to her physicians, Dr. Jennifer Briede and Dr. Leonardo Que, for the great care they gave her and to ask that any donations be given in her name to St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Church in Port Clinton and Stein Hospice for the comfort she received from them both. Visitation will be held at the Neidecker, LeVeck & Crosser Funeral Home, Port Clinton on Wednesday, February 25, from 2-4 and 6-8 PM where funeral services will be held on Thursday, February 26, at 11:00 AM with Reverend James Lehman officiating. Burial will follow in Riverview Cemetery. Memorial contributions may be made to St. John Lutheran Church, Port Clinton or to Stein Hospice. Funeral Home: Neidecker-LeVeck & Crosser Funeral Home - Port Clinton Chapel 1124 Fulton Street Port Clinton, OH US 43452