Doris Kruse
March 8, 1932 - April 6, 2011

DORIS KRUSE MUSCATINE, Iowa - Doris Elizabeth Kemper Kruse, 79, of Muscatine, formerly of Davenport, died on Wednesday, April 6, 2011, at the Lutheran Homes in Muscatine, after suffering a stroke on March 13, 2011. Memorial Service will be 11 a.m. on Monday, April 11, 2011, at the Sweetland United Methodist Church, 1709 Sweetland Road, Muscatine. Private Burial will take place in Greenwood Cemetery, Muscatine. Visitation will be from 2 to 5 p.m., on Sunday, April 10, 2011, at the Ralph J. Wittich, Riley, Freers Funeral Home, 1931 Houser Street, Muscatine. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be directed to the Salvation Army - Muscatine for the After School Program. Doris was born on March 8, 1932, in Muscatine, to Edgar and Beulah French Kemper. She was a graduate of Muscatine High School and Iowa State Teachers College two-year Education Program. She married Russell John Kruse on July 15, 1962, and they raised three children together in Davenport, where she lived for over 40 years. They divorced in 2000. She returned to her hometown in 2006, so she could be closer to her siblings. She had a generous spirit and her family was very important to her. She was a member of the United Methodist Church for all her life, attending Sweetland in Muscatine and Christ Church in Davenport. She was a member of the United Methodist Women, and played in the Chime Choir. She enjoyed traveling, and was a member of Friends of Melpine School and the Muscatine Genealogical Society. She also volunteered with the Muscatine Salvation Army's Safe Haven after-school program. Among her occupations over the years, she was an elementary school teacher, and librarian at Midland Press in Davenport. In recent years, she worked at the Pearl Button Museum in Muscatine, and did genealogical research for people wanting to learn more about their ancestors who lived in Muscatine. She had just completed research about Muscatine sons who fought in the Civil War for a book being published for an upcoming exhibit at the Muscatine Art Center. She is survived by a daughter, Sheila Kruse Boyce and husband Thomas, of Miami, Florida; two sons, Todd Kruse and wife, Gayle, of Iowa City; and Kevin Kruse and wife, Jennifer, of Johnston; four grandchildren Nicholas, Rachel, Maile, and Shawn Kruse; her ex-husband, Russell Kruse of West Des Moines; four sisters, Mary Hauck of Blue Grass, Martha Hetzler and husband, Herbert, Catherine Kitty Root, and Gladys Mittman, all of Muscatine; three brothers Edward Kemper and wife, Judy, and Paul Kemper, all of Muscatine; and Mark Kemper and wife, Carol, of Elmwood, Illinois; 19 nieces and nephews; and many grand-nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her parents; a sister, Ruth Denison and husband, Bill; a sister-in-law, Joyce Kemper, three brothers-in-law, Wally Hauck, Steve Root, and Wayne Mittman; and a niece, Jan Hauck Butkus.

Tributes