Lela Kuehl

MADISON- Lela Josephine Kuehl, died on Thursday, Sept. 3, 2015, at the Meadows of Oakwood Prairie Ridge. She was born on Oct. 6, 1913, in Marquette, Wis., to Ella and Frank Vinz. Lela farmed with her husband Larry on the family farm outside Beaver Dam until moving to Janesville so their oldest son Jim could attend the State School for the Visually Handicapped. When her children had grown she went back to work. Lela worked at a residence hall for Edgewood College and at Central Colony. She was very excited to start work for the Dane County Outreach Program in 1976, which later became the East Madison-Monona Coalition for the Aging. Lela enjoyed the interactions with retired people providing information on services available through Dane County. She spent many happy times at her A-frame cottage on Tuttle Lake near Neshkoro, Wis. Lela, along with her daughter wrote a book entitled "Lela Looks Back...A Century of Memories". She never thought there was "a story" in her life, but looking back we find everyday life of long ago is now quite extraordinary. Lela fondly remembers eating ice cream at her mother's ice cream shop, a thrilling ride in her Uncle Harv's Curtis JN-4 Jenny biplane, and inviting friends and relatives on winter days to quilting bees and her mother would cook a traditional farm meal. Having lived through the Depression, Lela was resourceful and saving. She enjoyed "simple things" as she would say. Lela is survived by her three children, James Kuehl, Judith "Missy" (Allen) Bodden, and Jon (Sherry) Kuehl; five grandchildren, Sarah (James) Payton, Matthew (Denise) Kuehl, Joseph (Conni Liaw) Kuehl, Seth (Emily Yu) Bodden and Ashley (Brian) Vanderhoef; and eight great-grandchildren, Nathan Kuehl, Rylee Neumann, Rachel Kuehl, Joanna Kuehl, Anthony Kuehl, Calvin Kuehl, Zachary Kuehl, and Allen James Payton. She was preceded in death by her brother, Gordon Vinz. Funeral services will be held at ST. STEPHEN'S LUTHERAN CHURCH, 5700 Pheasant Hill Road, Monona, at 11 a.m., on Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2015. Visitation be held at the church from 10 a.m. until the time of the service on Tuesday. Interment will be at the Manchester Cemetery. Memorials can be made to St. Stephen's Lutheran Church or Oakwood Prairie Ridge Foundation. Our family enjoyed and is grateful for the caring environment offered by the fellow residents and staff of Oakwood Prairie Ridge. They became part of our family and we will miss the friends we made while visiting. No time on earth is long enough to share with those we love or to prepare our hearts for good-bye. Lela told her story, now she can leave in peace. She will be dearly missed. Online condolences may be made to www.gundersonfh.com. Gunderson East Funeral & Cremation Care 5203 Monona Drive (608)221-5420