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| Zielke Family; Early 1950s Back Row L-R: Helen, Dorothy, Henry, Ray, Grace & Marge Front Row L-R: Bertha, Reinhold, Martha & George |
With that in mind, a few weeks ago, I put Aunt Grace to the task of remembering what she could about the health (and cause of death) of her grandparents, parents and siblings. Not a very pleasant topic, mind you, but one that proved to be interesting and, hopefully, beneficial for each of us! Here we go!
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| William Zielke 24 Mar 1843 to 14 May 1929 |
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| Bertha Guse Zielke 30 Mar 1845 to 12 Jan 1938 |
Great-Grandma Zielke lived several years after William passed away; living to the age of 92. Aunt Grace remembers that she had come down with pleurisy or pneumonia and suspects she may have had congestive heart failure. After William's death she lived alone until she moved in with her son, Rudy in the fall of 1937. The home where she lived until moving in with Rudy had no bathroom, no hot running water and no furnace! In spite of all that, Aunt Grace fondly remembers that whenever they went to see her, she always had cake to offer and there was ALWAYS green Jell-o!!! Not an easy feat since her only oven was in the wood cook stove and she had no refrigerator!
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| Wilhelm Staffeldt 20 Dec 1850 to 27 Jan 1919 |
Aunt Grace isn't able to offer a lot of information about Great-Grandpa or Great- Grandma Staffeldt as they had both passed away prior to her birth. Grandpa died at the age of 68, very possibly due to some complication of his alcoholism. He was blind from drinking wood alcohol in desperation. He always worked on farms before his blindness, but never had a farm of his own.
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| Wilhelmina Arndt Staffeldt 7 July 1852 to 24 May 1922 |
Great-Grandma Staffeldt also died fairly young, at the age of 69. Aunt Grace assumes she had diabetes and may have died from complications. She remembers hearing about Grandma's "open leg" and assumes that was in reference to ulcers on her leg, that would typically be attributed to diabetes.
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| Reinhold Rudolph Zielke 30 May 1880 to 10 Apr 1961 |
Grandpa Zielke was almost 81 when he passed away. He suffered from Parkinson's Disease the last 7-8 years of his life. He shuffled his feet when he walked (possibly related to imbalance from the Parkinson's), which led to frequent falls. Aunt Grace believes he also had hardening of the arteries. Ultimately, he died due to a fall down his basement stairs, which resulted in a broken back and neck. He lived for ten days in the hospital, but was delusional from the medications. They had to put sheets over the mirrors in the room to prevent him from seeing things that were driving him crazy. Aunt Grace believes that he may have also had several mini-strokes to further complicate his situation.
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| Louisa Staffeldt Zielke 14 Dec 1880 to 7 Mar 1917 |
Grandma Louisa Zielke had pneumonia at the time she gave birth to her fourth child. She and the baby died. She was 36 years old. Unfortunately, we don't have any additional information about her health prior to her death.
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| Martha Staffeldt Zielke 18 Dec 1890 to 7 Mar 1972 |
Grandma Martha Zielke was 81 when she passed away. She suffered from rheumatoid arthritis in her back from the time she was 12-years-old. The arthritis apparently spread as Aunt Grace doesn't remember her ever being able to get down on her hands and knees. Apparently the last time she was down on all fours was when she refinished the floors in the farmhouse where they lived in Plainfield where Grace was born. Unable to get down, she did all her work/ gardening by bending over at the waist. It's hard to imagine continuing to work so hard with such limitation. Grace remembers that one time she mutilated a new can of baking powder just trying to get it open. She would have arthritis flare-ups that would put her in bed for 2-3 days at a time. She wore orthopedic shoes and "big" Emily always had to cut her hair and nails.
Living across the street, Marge saw to most of Grandma's needs through the week, but toward the end of her life, her other children took turns staying with her on the weekends. She had a commode in her bedroom, but when Grace was staying with her the 6th/7th of February in 1972, Grandma really wanted to use the bathroom instead of the commode. The bathroom in Grandma's house was quite small and hard to maneuver. Grace lost her hold on Grandma and she fell, breaking her hip. They were unable to set the hip and Grandma remained in the hospital for a month with nurses turning her every two hours. Eventually, pneumonia set in and Grandma passed away.
If you're able to curl your tongue, you can thank Grandma for that genetic trait! I remember being fascinated at her ability to hoot like an owl through her curled tongue. I can do the curl, but have never been able to do the hoot; I just blow air!
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| George Zielke 2 Apr 1905 to 22 Aug 1992 |
George lived to the age of 87 years old. He was quite healthy his whole life with the exception of some spots of skin cancer on his face. He developed blood clots in his lungs and was hospitalized. On Easter Sunday, March 30, 1986 George suffered a stroke which led to rehab and stays in a couple of different nursing homes until he passed away. (Update provided by Heather Roth Swenson, granddaughter)
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| Henry Zielke 27 Aug 1908 to 5 Nov 1976 |
Like George, Henry was healthy his whole life until the illness that caused his death. He was the first of three siblings to die at the age of 68. Henry attended a family reunion in August of '76. He had lost a lot of weight and Grace told him he needed to go to a doctor. Later, he and Aunt Emily (aka Miem) were at the cabins in Cornucopia, Wisconsin, but they came home in early October because he felt it was too cold. When he came home, he was treated for ulcers until October 17th when he had been laying down and came out of the bedroom, complaining that his right side hurt. In early November he went into the hospital for surgery when they discovered he had pancreatic cancer. He passed away shortly thereafter.
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| Bertha Zielke Wood 6 Dec 1911 to 26 June 1980 |
Aunt Bertha (aka Berdie) was the second sibling to pass away at the age of 68. Unlike her older brothers, though, Berdie was not blessed with good health. She suffered from diabetes and high blood pressure. The diabetes led to diabetic ulcers on her legs and in 1974/75 her leg was amputated. She never mastered the use of her prosthetic leg, so spent her days in a wheelchair. She began to exhibit symptoms of problems with her pancreas and went into the hospital for a few months. Grace went to see her over Memorial Day weekend in 1980. She had been experiencing elevated blood pressure and shortness of breath and they had installed a pacemaker per Uncle Burdette's request. She passed away less than a month later.
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| Helen Zielke Hudson Skeeters 15 May 1919 to 2 Apr 1988 |
Helen was the third sibling to die at the age of 68. Other than a ruptured appendix that almost took her life about 1950 and diabetes that she was able to control with diet and medication (did not require insulin), she was fairly healthy as well. Penicillin was still a fairly new discovery and not readily available at the time her appendix burst, but they were able to fly some in to treat her before it was too late.
Helen had come home to Oswego in September, 1987 for her 50th class reunion and wasn't feeling well. She got in to see the doctor and she was found to have pancreatic cancer too. They began giving her radiation treatments and chemotherapy, but the treatments made her so sick, she told the doctor to stop. She was in a lot of pain. They had a hospital bed moved into the dining room of her home. Janet was there to help much of the time, but Aunt Helen couldn't stand the smell of meals being prepared, so Margie Lou would do most of the cooking and take it to her mom's house. She lived about six months after her diagnosis.
A memory of Aunt Helen: Helen and Garnett always had a large supply of ice cream in their freezer. She made the first biscuits and gravy that I (Tina Kaetzer) ever had. When Jim's brother Tom was getting married to Catherine in Alexandria, LA, Bob and Marge in one car and Jim and me, plus baby Tim (1985) in another car, stopped in Louisville to pick up Aunt Helen. She rode with Bob and Marge and we traded Tim between the two cars. If they had Tim and he needed a change, they'd pass us and hold their noses.
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| Ray Zielke 27 May 1922 to 31 Mar 1975 |
Ray was the first and youngest of the siblings to pass away at age 52. Like his brothers, he enjoyed good health most of his life. He had his tonsils out as a child and got false teeth in his mid-40s due to the gum disease, pyorrhea. About 1973-74, he began to suspect he had arthritis as he began having problems with his legs and knees. His work as a contractor was becoming increasingly difficult, especially in the winter months. The fall of 1974, he had gone hunting with friends in Colorado, but was having back pain, so they made him the "lookout" by a tree. When he got back from the hunting trip, his friend, Ralph Weber, arranged for him to see a doctor friend of his in Chicago. Ray was unaware that Ralph had warned the doctor that if Ray had cancer to not tell him, because he had said that if he ever got cancer he would kill himself rather than go through everything Mary Ellen had experienced with her cancer treatments. He was diagnosed with arthritis, given medication and sent home.
From there, Ray reached out to a hospital in Ottawa, Illinois that specialized in the treatment of arthritis. He was told he'd be there 2-3 weeks as they worked out a treatment plan, but he was sent home after just a couple of days. The medication that the doctor in Chicago had prescribed was not for the treatment of arthritis. Ray had prostate cancer. Ray was hospitalized a couple of times before his death in March, 1975. Between hospitalizations, he was cared for by his fiancee, Ethel McDowell, at her home in Genoa.
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| Grace Zielke Pope Born 23 Apr 1925 Alive and Kicking at 95! |
Fortunately for all of us, Aunt Grace was blessed with very good health until age 75 and has only suffered manageable health issues for the past twenty years. Over the years, she suffered some residual effects, mostly discomfort, from the broken hip she had as a toddler. She has lipodermatosclerosis in her right leg. A form of lupus, it has caused a change in the skin color of her leg. In more extreme cases, it can result in pain, hardening of the skin, swelling and a tapering of the legs above the ankles. It can also lead to venous insufficiency.
When she was 75 and preparing to go to Texas, she wasn't feeling well and had no pep. She went to the doctor to get some cough medicine and they were going to do a stress test. She went to Texas, but was still having problems with her energy levels. As they would take walks on the beach, Uncle Austin suggested she not go so far so that she wouldn't get so worn out, but her response was "How do I know when I'm half-tired?!?" Good point! They then discovered a mass in her chest and thought she might have pulmonary fibrosis. She started seeing an Ear-Nose-Throat doctor who sent her to a specialist at Loyola. They learned that she had a goiter that was internal presenting, rather than external like the goiters we may be more familiar with. Upon removing the goiter, they learned that it was cancerous, but they were able to remove all of the cancer with the goiter and she was sent home with a drain. The doctor told her that she had gotten the opposite of her sisters who had diabetes and that it was a good thing. She then went on to the Wisconsin Dells on vacation and had a good time.
The things she deals with on a daily basis today is her sleep apnea, arthritis and a restrictive lung disease for which she does have an oxygen tank, but does not need to use it at all times. She does use it at night and has found that it helps with her sleep apnea as well. I'm sure you all join me in praying that her health continues to hold out!
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I always remember Aunt Dorothy as having an infectious laugh and I credit her with teaching me to see things practically, with a bright side. One time when Beth and I were staying with her, we were taking a bath, horsing around and using the back slope of the tub for a slide. At one point, I noticed a razor blade had fallen into the tub. It was Beth's turn to slide, but I told her to wait while I picked up the blade. In doing so, I cut my finger and began to cry. Aunt Dorothy came to see what was wrong and saw my bleeding finger. After cleaning the cut and putting on a band aid, she wiped my tears, smiled at me and said, "It could have been worse. You could have cut your butt!"
As I've been reviewing Aunt Grace's memories and writing this blog, I've gained an appreciation for the overall healthy stock we come from! Most of the family has enjoyed good health until their later years or the onset of a terminal disease. Cancer has taken too many of our family. Symptoms of diabetes and arthritis are things we all need to be aware of and ensure our doctors know the family history. As the awareness of genetic health becomes more prevalent, perhaps oversharing with our doctors could become important in diagnoses. Doctors rarely ask for family health histories beyond grandparents, yet diseases of great-grandparents are now being diagnosed in some our children! I hope you'll all find this information interesting, helpful and, although no one has sneezed, I'll add gesundheit!
* Corrections and updates provided by other family members are written in red with the source of the correction at the end of the paragraph. Thank you to those who are helping to ensure the accuracy of this post!
"I've Still Got My Health"
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