Ivyl A. Brand

Ivyl Annette Brand, 92, of Kieler, WI, most recently of Dickeyville, WI, passed away at Southwest Health Center in Cuba City on Saturday, August 28, 2010. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Tuesday, August 31, 2010, at 10:30 AM at Immaculate Conception Church in Kieler, with Rev. Bernard Rott, Rev. Francis Steffen, and Rev. Wayne Droessler presiding. Burial will be in the church cemetery. Visitation will be held from 3-8 p.m. on Monday, August 30, at Casey Funeral Home & Cremation Services in Cuba City where the parish rosary will be at 2:45 p.m. Friends may also call from 9-10 a.m. Tuesday at the Immaculate Conception Parish Center in Kieler before the service. Ivyl was born on August 11, 1918, on the family farm in Kieler, the daughter of August and Mary (Droessler) Thor. Following the death of her mother, Mary, during the flu epidemic of 1918–1919, Ivyl lived with her uncle and aunt, Val and Annie (Thor) Droessler in Louisburg, WI. The love and closeness shown by the Droesslers during the six years she spent with them formed fond and lasting memories for Ivyl. When her father, August, married Hilda Schroeder in 1924, Ivyl returned to Kieler to be with her family. She attended Immaculate Conception School in Kieler. In her youth she was a member of the 4-H, where she learned to sew, bake, cook, and can by her leader, Mary Brandt. She was the big sister to her younger siblings, and enjoyed watching them and playing with them. As a young adult, she was a member of the Immaculate Conception Council of Catholic Women. She enjoyed crocheting, sewing, gardening, canning, cooking – and baking her infamous German Kuchen. Ivyl married Andrew Brand on May 3, 1938, at Immaculate Conception Church in Kieler. They left the following day to travel to Deertrail, Colorado, Andrew’s family home. There was little work to be found on the dry eastern plains of Colorado, and after several months, they moved back to Kieler, and Andrew found work at Farley & Loetschers in Dubuque, IA. After many years of raising her family, Ivyl worked at The Village Bar in Kieler for six years. Upon the closing of Farley & Loetschers, Andrew and Ivyl moved to Davenport, IA, where Andrew worked at Rock Island Millworks and Ivyl worked at St. Ambrose College. After 25 years at St Ambrose she retired, and together she and Andrew traveled throughout the United States, from Hawaii to Connecticut - and even to Mexico! They loved to travel; and they loved to camp. They were part of a camping group that included Droessslers, Thors, Burlages, Timmermans and many friends and relatives. After Andrew’s death, Ivyl traveled with her daughters - a highlight being two weeks spent in Germany visiting many cousins (and drinking just a little beer). Ivyl was a life-long, diehard Cubs fan. She enjoyed playing euchre and bingo. But the thing she enjoyed most was her family. She was a loving daughter, sister, wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, and great-great-grandmother. She looked forward to our annual family vacation – this past June at Wisconsin Dells – when we all gather to remember what family is all about. She is survived by a daughter-in-law, Mary (James, deceased) Brand of Dickeyville, and their children, Lynn (Dick) Eisner, Kathy (Rich) Gerber, Karen (Steve) Wendler, and Bob (Tammy) Brand; her daughters and son, Mary Ann (Bill) Troy of Kieler, and their children, Jim Troy, Jennifer (Jeff) Bowden, Patrick (Kristen) Troy, Nathan (Sara ) Troy, and Sara (Nathan ) Rockswold; Patricia (Darryl) Jerrett, of Dickeyville, and their children, Michelle (Scott) McClory, Bryan Jerrett, and Angela (Joe) Van Ostrand; Gary (Susan) Brand, of Davenport, IA, and their daughter, Melissa (Gary) Nordenson; Connie (Johnny) Dyer, of Davenport, IA, and their daughters, Jaclyn Greene and Andrea Greene; Sharon (John) Wagner, of Lafayette, IN, and their children, Nick Wagner, Julia Wagner, and Brandon Wagner. She is also survived by her great-grandchildren, Cory (Ben) McCarville, Joey Eisner, Marissa (Brad) Collins, Angel Eisner, Jenna, Matt & Mallory Gerber, Alex, Jackson, Mitchell and Olivia Wendler, Amber, Adam, Anna & Aubrey Brand, Jessica, Matthew, Katie & Emily Bowden, Kieler Troy, Mary & August Rockswold, Bryant (Katie) Udell, Amanda (Richie) Lagle, Jonah & Rachael Jerrett, Heather Weis, Rhiannon, Phoenix, Zoe and Savannah VanOstrand, Logan, Dalton, & Brody Meyer, Alexis Nordenson , and Christopher Greene,; and her great-great grandchildren, Andrew & Isabelle McCarville, Carson Collins, Evan Lagle, and Kyler & Kayla Brant-Udell, a sister–in-law, Marion Thor, of Madison WI, a brother, Stanley (Iola) Thor of Hazel Green, and a sister, Annabel (Ken) Wilberding, of Dubuque, IA; and many nieces and nephews. She was preceeded in death by Andrew, her husband of 53 years; their son, James; her infant grandchildren, Jeremiah Jerrett and Angela Wagner; her brother, Walter Thor, and her brother and sister-in-law, Quentin & Betty (Meyer) Thor. She was our matriarch and we will miss her terribly. Special thanks go to the staff of Southwest Health Center in Cuba City, and Kim, Mom’s hospice nurse.