Madeline Ilene (Kosick) Wheeler

Madeline Ilene Wheeler of Hudson, Ohio, passed away peacefully on Tuesday, February 14, 2023 at Heritage of Hudson.

Madeline was born in Pinconning, MI on September 23, 1928, one of seven children born to Stephan and Mary Kosick.  She married Donald Wheeler in April of 1952.  She is survived by five of her children:  Michael Wheeler of Jupiter, Florida; Linda Schoenfeld (Gary) of Fort Mill, SC; Edward Wheeler of Denver, NC; Patti Green (James) of Fort Mill, SC and Jeanne Wilson (Robert) of Aurora, OH.

She was preceded in death by two children and a daughter in law, Donald ”Rusty” Wheeler (Kathy),Terri “Ginger” Schultz (Paul), and Barbara Wheeler (Michael).

Madeline was blessed with twelve grandchildren:  Jamie Surridge, Michael Schoenfeld (Erin), Natalie Wheeler, Madison Wheeler, Kelly Wheeler, Molly Wheeler, Lauren McClain (Aaron), Andrew Schulmonds (Natalie), Rachel Green, Jared Green, Isabel Wilson and Benjamin Wilson.

Madeline was super blessed with three great grandchildren; Aiden, Everett and Callan.

Madeline is survived by one sister, Irene Duvall of Allison Park, PA.  She was preceded in death by her sisters Mary Whitehouse, Olga Berg, Anne Treckelo, Julie Gordon and brother Peter Kosick.

Madeline was a farm girl from Pinconning, Michigan.  Her father died when she was eight years old, leaving her mother and the siblings to manage all the chores of running a family farm.  Madeline was an excellent student and loved reading as a child and continued as a voracious reader throughout her life.

After graduating from Pinconning High School, Madeline received a scholarship to attend Eastern Michigan University.  She also worked at the phone company in Bay City for a few years prior to marrying and starting her family.  Madeline has fond memories of her time at the phone company and loved to share fun stories of her work days.

Madeline enjoyed raising her family in Twin Lakes, Ohio.  She took great pride in maintaining a lovely home with beautiful landscaping.  She had a green thumb and it certainly was on display each year when she planted her annual flowers around the home.  She also enjoyed her indoor house plants that always seemed to thrive!  Madeline eventually went back to work as a service associate at Kaufmann's department store.  She relished the opportunity to visit with neighbors and friends from the area when she was working.  Truly a blessing for her as this was her connection to the community after her children were grown and flown.  Kaufmann’s valued her contribution and she was awarded a highly coveted service award for her excellent customer service.

Madeline enjoyed bowling, reading, gardening and walked almost every day.

Grandma “Maga” loved her grandbabies, especially as infants when she could hold and rock them for hours.  These were some of her happiest moments.  She also traveled to visit her children and grandchildren over the years.  She loved visiting the mountains of Colorado with her sister Mary.  And in her later years she would travel to Colorado with Mike and his family.  Her favorite place to visit was her home state of Michigan.

She spent several birthdays enjoying the beaches of Lake Michigan with her children and grandchildren. She traveled to Mackinac Island for her 85th birthday celebration. During that trip she was easily able to climb the steep sand dunes at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore.

Another favorite spot of hers was the Carolina beaches, which she enjoyed with her children and grandchildren.

Madeline was a proud, hardworking and independent woman.

A favorite saying of hers, and she would say it often, especially in her later years, is “Life is a mystery to be lived, not a problem to be solved”.

Madeline’s family will have a private service for her and she will be interred at Standing Rock Cemetery in Kent, Ohio.