Eleonore Dagmar Wolfe

Eleonore Dagmar Wolfe was born July 5, 1928 in East Prussia, Germany. She and her family moved to Augsburg, Germany when she was 10 years old. Eleonore lived in Augsburg through World War II and fell in love with an American GI named Fulton DeRouen. In December of 1947 at the age of 19, Eleonore moved to Lafayette, Louisiana and married Fulton, who sadly died of a brain tumor in less the 6 months after their marriage. With the help of a catholic priest in Louisiana, she resettled in Wilmette, Illinois working for a German family as a companion for the wife. It was there that she met Augie Muller. They were married on July 2, 1949. They were married for 35 years and had 3 children: Liz, Herb and Ken. She became an American citizen in 1960, so she could vote for President Kennedy. Eleonore made sure she voted in every election after that. Augie died in June of 1985 of pancreatic cancer. The couple had planned to retire to Arizona and had already bought a house in the valley. Before Augie died, he made Eleonore promise to not change their plan, so she moved to Arizona in 1987. It was in Arizona she met Virgil Wolfe, and they were married in December of 1991. They were married just over 17 years. They both loved to play golf and were members of Palmbrook Golf Club for about 10 years. Virgil died from malignant melanoma in March of 2009. She lived the rest of her life alone but her children were very present in her life.

Eleonore was a woman who faced every challenge in her life with strength and courage. She was a truly loving mother who was always present for her children. She supported each of her children in ways only a mother can and tried to give them all they needed for a bright future. The family always managed to have fun, even though there were two working parents in the home, which was very unusual in the 1950’s. Elenore was an incredibly hard worker all her life and didn’t believe in credit. If you didn’t have the cash, you didn’t buy what you wanted until you did. So saving money was of great importance to her. Starting out with literally nothing, Augie and Eleonore went from living in a relative’s basement to buying their own home in 5 years. Working hard and being present for life’s moments were of great importance to the couple and they made sure they were present for all whom they loved.

Eleonore was a waitress who eventually became the manager of the restaurant she worked for. After working there for around 20 years, she was hired by a large hospital and managed the sandwich shop there until after her husband Augie passed away. Eleonore kept working even after moving to Arizona, she would do part time jobs here and there for a few months at a time. She always loved to dance. After moving to Sun City, she got involved with a dance studio, practiced hard and eventually was enrolled in competitions, where she often won awards. She also learned to play golf and loved it. After Virgil’s death, her German stubbornness really kicked in, and she remained in their home till shortly after her 95th birthday, when she needed to move to assisted living.

Eleonore’s family states that their mom may not have been a perfect mom (but then there is no such thing).She tried her very best and we never lacked for love. We couldn’t have asked for a better mom. Eleonore was married 3 times and was such a loving and loyal wife to all of them. Each one was so different, but she was a true life partner to the end with each of them. Everyone who knew Eleonore loved her. We are so truly blessed to have had her in their lives for as long as we did. She will be so missed!