Memorials › Audrey Marie Chittenden Fuchs
Audrey Marie Chittenden Fuchs
17 Apr 1936 – 11 Nov 2023
| Birth | 17 Apr 1936 |
| Death | 11 Nov 2023 |
| Cemetery | Crown Hill Cemetery Madison , Madison County , Nebraska , USA |
| Added by | Sebastian on 11 Nov 2023 |
| FaG | https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/249690622 |
Bio
1936 Madison Star-Mail; Madison, Nebraska; Thursday, April 23, 1936, page 5 A daughter was born Friday morning to Mr. and Mrs. Jess Chittenden, northwest of Madison. 2023 Audrey Marie was born April 17, 1936 in Fairview Precinct, northwest of Madison, Nebraska, to Jesse and Marie (Huddle) Chittenden. She graduated from Madison High School in 1954 and received her Bachelor's degree in elementary education with a minor in library science from Wayne State College. She was united in marriage to Allen Fuchs on April 12, 1958 at St. Patrick's Catholic Church in Battle Creek, Nebraska. They became the parents to four children. Audrey taught rural schools in Madison County, and at Humphrey St. Francis and Lindsay Holy Family for a number of years. Her last years in education were as a librarian at Humphrey St. Francis retiring in 1999. She and her husband, Allen, live and farmed southwest of Madison their entire married life. Allen passed in 2006. Audrey later married Glenn Wedekind. Audrey loved her grandchildren (and Mcdonald's caramel frappe's + chocolate candies, too). In addition she enjoyed reading books, traveling, genealogy and all of her extended family. She made it a point to know and recognize everybody's birthdays and anniversaries. Not just with a card, but including some appropriate articles clipped from newspapers or magazines. 3 of 4 Songs That Were Sang at Her Funeral ~ - Amazing Grace - How Great Thou Art - Mansion Over the Hilltop [ Old Methodist style, not modern version ] - Precious Moments [ Old Methodist style, not modern version ] Memories and Thoughts about Audrey ~ Facebook comments - She truly was a great role model. - Privilege to have known her. - By far the nicest person ever to exist. - Always such a lovely lady... - Wonderful, kind and nurturing person. - Will be missing her birthday calls and cards a lot. - Was the sweetest woman….. My piano teacher. I adored her! - So very special to me and so many others! - The kindest woman I have ever known. - My piano teacher too… very kind lady! - Sweet, quiet and bright. - Was so nice. - A beautiful lady. - Was a great person & Wonderful classmate & friend. - Arguably one of the kindest individuals anyone could meet. - Many fond memories of Audrey. I looked up to and admired her so much. - Son, Richard , Eulogy on Wednesday, November 15, 2023 ~ It puts a smile in my heart to see so many familiar faces even though the occasion is sad. I'd like to thank each of you for being here. Funerals are a time to reflect and to remember the life of a loved one. Thinking of my mom, I know far too many of those memories are lost to time but I have many great memories to draw on too. Audrey grew up in Madison like me and my siblings. If you were with her in Madison she liked to point to her old house, her grandmother's house, and her church as she reminisced about childhood. She graduated high school in 1954 but kept in touch with many childhood friends and classmates throughout the years. After high school, she started teaching. Yes, right after high school, in that era you could teach without a college degree. She taught at several one room schools and that's where she met my dad who came to pick up his cousins - two of her students - Bill and Doug Carson . They were married in 1958 and she lived and worked on the family farm for 40 plus years. She worked very hard as a mother, wife, teacher, and helping on the farm. At first glance, she might seem like a stay-at-home mom. She made meals for a family of six and often brought dinner out to the field we were working. She did the shopping, bought the clothes, and moreover, she washed and ironed everything. And I mean ironed "everything." She ironed the jeans we wore on the farm in the summer. The jeans no one would see but our family and cows. It didn't end with house work. She also tended the garden, walked the bean fields for cockleburs, helped move the farm equipment, and could even change a flat tire. Yes, changing a flat. Her father made it a condition for driving. It's still a valued skill, in fact, we had a flat tire this morning. She tirelessly helped us with school assignments and in grade school checked 100% of our homework. I still recall being at the kitchen table with mom as she tried her best to improve my penmanship. I don't think my penmanship turned out as well as she would've liked. It could be that it was the "students fault," not the teacher. She helped us throughout high school too and I'd bet if you could average the GPA of me and my siblings you'd have a B average and maybe higher. We didn't do it alone, it was with her help and tutoring. When I said at first glance she might appear to be a stay-at-home mom it's far from true. As Paul Harvey famously said, here is the rest of the story. For most of the years she was on the farm, she continued to teach school in Lindsay and Humphrey. And more; she attended Wayne State College at night and in the summer. It took a long, long time, but she achieved her Bachelor's Degree in December of 1977. She did well for herself and her children. All four of us went to college. For me, my college was key in attaining a 34 year military career and a number of great experiences in my life. That value of education is now passed on to her grandchildren. Speaking of grandchildren, Audrey enjoyed them very much whether it was babysitting, playing, reading with them, holidays, birthdays, or maybe even drying a tear. In these last years it was very sad to watch moms memory decline with Alzheimer's. I was fortunate to visit her often and sitting with her at Bible Study one afternoon, the leader asked her "What are you grateful for?" Without hesitation, mom said, "my children." She had gratitude. Gratitude is important. None of us go through life alone. We have teachers, siblings, friends, aunts, uncles, neighbors, and parents. I hope you've thanked the people that have helped you along the way. You may know Audrey as her student, sister, cousin, friend or even mom. She wrote, called, and met with friends and relatives until her health began to fail. If she heard the phone ring, she picked up and had time to talk. As children, I suppose you don't really know what you need. As children, we felt reluctantly pushed into farm work and school work. Those things weren't fun like playing or watching TV. Looking back, I can only have gratitude for my mother and my father too. Gratitude for the kind of parents that were giving us a head start even if we didn't know it as children. Gratitude for the education and work ethic that served us well and we have now passed on. She will continue to touch our lives long into the future. We were lucky to have her and she will be greatly missed. 1958 The Madison Star-Mail; Madison, Nebraska; Thursday, April 17, 1958, page 4 Miss Audrey Chittenden Married to Allen Fuchs Miss Audrey Chittenden, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Jesse Chittenden of Missouri Valley, Iowa, became the bride of Allen Fuchs, son of Mr. and Mrs. Michael Fuchs of Pierce, Saturday morning at St. Patrick's Catholic Church in Battle Creek. Rev. Leo Kuhn celebrated the nuptial high mass. Miss Ardyce Chittenden of Missouri Valley was maid of honor for her sister. Miss Vyolette [Vyiolette] Fuchs, sister of the bridegroom, and Miss Gayle Wolfgram , both of Pierce, were bridesmaids. Gilbert Fuchs of Pierce was best man for his brother. Wilfred Ronspies, Pierce, cousin of the bridegroom, and James Hurlbert of Carroll were groomsmen. Ushers were Vernon Chittenden of Missouri Valley, brother of the bride and Lajoy Sudbeck of Hartington, cousin of the bridegroom. A reception was held for 150 guests. Mrs. Fred Volk of Madison, aunt of the bride, cut the four-tiered wedding cake. Mrs. Paul Dolezal had charge of the guest book. Mrs. Longin Karel Jr. and Mrs. Frank Knapp Jr. arranged the gifts. Serving were Misses Carol Podliska, Shirley Wolfgram , Phillis Rabe, Karen Kasik and Betty Letterman. After a wedding trip the couple will live on a farm northwest of Humphrey. The bride is a Madison High School graduate. She attended Wayne State Teachers College and has been teaching in Madison County rural schools four years. The bridegroom graduated from Battle Creek High School and attended Norfolk Junior College. He served two years in the U. S. Army.
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