Ione Marie (Bender) Kueter

Ione Marie Bender was born the second of five daughters to Fred and Martha Bender of the Town of Meeme, Manitowoc County Wisconsin. She was born on January 13, 1922 and passed away peacefully on December 13, 2022 at The Court at Felician Village in Manitowoc. Fred and Martha Bender were dairy farmers on the Manitowoc/Sheboygan County line.

Ione attended Howards Grove High School and graduated in 1939, where she met her future husband, Armond Kueter. After high school she attended the Sheboygan County Normal School where she graduated in 1941. She taught first through eighth grade in the Webster School, a one room schoolhouse, in the Town of Liberty in Sheboygan County from 1941 through 1943.

Armond was in the U.S. Army during World War II, and they were married in Kansas City, Missouri on Christmas Day, 1942, after her first ever train trip from Plymouth, Wisconsin to Kansas City where he was stationed. She arrived late because of troop transfers and they initially were unable to find each other. When they did, they attended a midnight Christmas Eve service at Our Redeemer Lutheran Church. After the service they asked the minister to marry them, and by then it was early in the morning of Christmas Day.

Armond was stationed at the Pentagon the remainder of the war and they returned to Wisconsin in February of 1946. They were married for 71 years before he died on December 26, 2013.

They lived on the farm of Armond Kueter’s parents for several years after the end of World War II. During that time she taught first through eighth grades at the Pinehurst School, another one room schoolhouse, in the Town of Herman in Sheboygan County.

In 1950 they moved to Manitowoc where Armond took a teaching position with the Manitowoc Public Schools. From 1953 through 1955 she taught third through fifth grades at the Manitowoc Rapids State Graded School. In 1965 she received her undergraduate degree from Silver Lake College in Manitowoc County, where the Commencement Speaker was her husband Armond. From 1965 through 1984 she taught first grade at Franklin Elementary School in Manitowoc.

Except for one year in Schwaebisch Gmund, Germany (1955-1956), where Armond taught for a year for the U.S. Armed Forces, they lived in Manitowoc for the remainder of their marriage. Sixty-one of those years were in the same house on Meadow Lane. After Armond’s death in 2013, Ione moved from Meadow Lane to The Gardens at Felician Village in Manitowoc, where she lived independently until October of 2022. During that time she delivered newspapers daily to some residents and kept the library’s magazine rack neat and up to date. In October, 2022 she moved to The Court at Felician Village.

Ione and Armond were active members of Redeemer Lutheran Church in Manitowoc since 1950. She was active in the Ladies Aid Society and later the Quick Responders.

Ione was a believer in life-long learning. Among her volunteer activities were the English Second Language Program and the English Language Learners at Franklin Elementary School, as well as tutoring children with reading problems. She was active with the Manitowoc Chapter of the P.E.O. Sisterhood, the Manitowoc County Retired Educator’s Association, the Wisconsin Retired Educator’s Association, and the American Association of University Women.

Her other volunteer activities included the Manitowoc County Historical Society and its Pinecrest Historical Village, the Capital Civic Centre Theatre, Camp Sinawa, Woodland Dunes, Conservation Education, Inc. at Collins Marsh, and the Wisconsin State Historical Society.

Other activities which she enjoyed were traveling, playing bridge and other card games, dancing, reading, baking, and braiding rugs from old wool coats. Ione and Armond loved to travel. They visited 49 of the 50 states (missing only Rhode Island) and 27 countries, many of them with the 22 Elder Hostel programs that they attended.

Ione kept a daily diary since she was 12 years old, recording all the events of her life. During COVID she passed the time by re-reading portions of her diary and the travel journals she also kept. She always had a smile on her face, she was never idle and never bored, and she always tried to do the right thing and expected the same of others.

She is survived by 3 children:, Larry Kueter (Rebecca Richardson) of Denver, Colorado; Dennis Kueter (Jane Kueter) of Platteville, Wisconsin; and Roslyn (Roz) Kueter (Rob Maruyama) of Golden, Colorado; six grandchildren: David Kueter (Dawn Kral-Kueter) of Wheat Ridge, Colorado; Jeff Kueter (Crystal Kueter) of Dodgeville, Wisconsin; Matthew Kueter of Castle Rock, Colorado; Cory Kueter (Georgina Kueter) of Brisbane, Australia; Emily Maruyama of Golden, Colorado; and Eric Maruyama of Denver, Colorado; and by four great grandchildren: Ryan Kueter, Kaitlyn Kueter, Derek Kueter, and Michaela Kueter, all of Dodgeville, Wisconsin.

She was preceded in death by her husband Armond; by her four sisters: Dorothy (2021), Arlene (2021), Luaine (2013), and Janice (2001); and by a daughter in law, Nancy (Komosa) Kueter (2013).

Her funeral will take place at Redeemer Lutheran Church, 1712 Menasha Avenue, Manitowoc, at 2pm on Friday January 13, 2023. A visitation will be held beginning at 12:30pm, with a reception after the service, both also at Redeemer Lutheran. In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation in her memory to either the Manitowoc County Historical Society-Meeme House Fund (924 Pine Crest Lane, Manitowoc, WI 54220), or to Redeemer Lutheran Church.

The Lakeshore Family Funeral Homes, Reinbold & Pfeffer Family Funeral Home of Manitowoc is assisting the family with arrangements. Online condolences may be expressed to the family by visiting www.lakeshorefamilyfuneralhomes.com

The family wishes to express its appreciation to Felician Village for the nine wonderful years their mother lived there, to the Sharon Richardson Hospice for the care they provided the last week of her life, and to Joanne Krish for the care and love she provided in the final months.