Almeda Madge "Mitzi" Wolff Bruss
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Almeda Madge "Mitzi" Wolff Bruss passed away peacefully on Friday July 21, 2023 at the Heritage Manor Nursing Home in Mandeville, Louisiana. She went to Jesus at the age of 92 after a long battle with Alzheimer's disease. She was a happy, loving, caring and blessed person who always had a smile on her face. She loved to laugh and sing and she was a wonderful mother. Mitzi and Spike had a beautiful life together and she loved
living and working in Chinook. They had so many friends and were so thankful as their friends enriched their lives. She was born on November 22, 1930 in Forbes, ND to Jonathan and Madge Doris Marshall Wolff.
She is survived by three of her children, Virginia Carolyn "Ginny" (Ed) Carruthers, Douglas Jack (Joanie) Bruss, and Susan Ellen Metcalf (Gary) Tilleman.
Mitzi's grandchildren are: Michael (Iris) Carruthers, Jeffrey (Michelle) Carruthers, Chelsey (Peter) Hughes, Bobby (Kelley) Bruss, Cory Bruss, Austin (Kayla) Bruss, Sierra (Corey) Canfield, Marshall Metcalf, and Tyler (Sidnie) Metcalf. She also has ten great-grandchildren.
She is survived by five nieces: Lyn McPherson, Leslie McPherson (John) Benci, Lee Ann Brown
(Skip) Loucks, Lorna Brown, Jan Bradley (Mitch) Brown, and nephew Gary Bradley.
Mitzi is survived by seven Marshall cousins from Forbes, ND: Linda (Richard) Wedell, Lee Vern (Alice) Brotherton, Mary Lee Randall, Shirley Bailey, Janice (Greg) Allen, Ronald (Erin) Hesse, Marti Hesse, and Caleb (Marjie) Estes.
The Jonathan Wolff family lived on a small farm in Forbes, ND. Jonathan was the 12th child in his family and Madge Marshall, was from a family of nine children. Large families lived in Forbes and many relatives were
in contact daily at school and church. Jonathan was very musical and played the accordian, guitar, piano and
he was a great singer. Mitzi learned to sing along with her Dad and often he would have her sing with him in the band. This era was during the Great Depression and music was such a focus in their lives as many families would gather in the evenings or weekends and play music together for entertainment. She graduated from
high school in 1948 and in September the family left Forbes and moved to Spokane, WA.
In Spokane, Jonathan began a new career as a Home Contractor while Mitzi started her business education at the Kinman Business University. While at Kinman, she met Spike Bruss who was also attending Kinman and it was love at first sight for both of them. They married in Spokane on April 15, 1951 and moved to Chinook
to begin their lives together. They celebrated their 60th Wedding Anniversary in April 2011.
Spike was in the National Guards so every year during Guard Camp, Mitzi would pack up her four children and travel on the Empire Builder train to Spokane to visit her parents for two weeks. It was the best vacation ever for Mitzi and her kids.
Sunday mornings, Mitzi took her four children to Sunday School and sang with Neva Blackwood, a fantastic piano player and singer, to teach the children the words to the songs they sang.
Mitzi was always involved in different activities. She completed many paint by number pictures, she learned
to knit and crochet, she loved working on crewel embroidery projects, she was an excellent seamstress and made school clothes for Ginny and Patty, and cleaned and painted many ceramic pieces.
During their lives, Mitzi and Spike loved to dance together and were always on the dance floor if they could find a band. They also were in a square dance club and wore the traditional square dancing uniforms and learned the calls. Those were happy days!
She loved cats and our family always had a cat for a pet. Biggi, Schroeder and Smokee Bear were her special cats. Jackie, our outdoor dog, was also a favorite of hers.
Mitzi and Spike learned to play bridge with Spike's mother, Nondas Bruss, and they became pretty good bridge players themselves. They also learned how to golf in Chinook and it became an obsession for them. They enjoyed going out to the golf club with their golfing friends and they never tired of it.
When they retired, Mitzi and Spike bought a 5th wheel RV and began their adventure visiting many states, cities and national parks. They traveled around the United States for 17 years and were able to golf at many beautiful and famous golf courses.
Mitzi was preceded in death by her husband, Oliver J. "Spike" Bruss, her parents, Jonathan and Madge Doris Wolff, a daughter, Patricia Marie "Patty" Bruss (John) Cowell, and her sister, Luella Kay "Lue" (Andrew) Bradley. She will be missed by all who knew and loved her.
The family expresses their deepest gratitude to the care provided by St. Catherine's Hospice. They were so helpful and knew how to support her.
In lieu of flowers, contributions in memory of Mitzi Bruss may be made to the Chinook United Methodist Church or the Chinook Senior Citizen's Center.
Memorial Service: 11:00 AM, Saturday, September 2, 2023, Chinook United Methodist Church Lunch following the service at the Chinook Senior Citizen's Center
