TOEDEBUSCH, Mildred Adele

Mildred Adele Toedebusch, a resident of Peoria, Ariz., died September 25, 2017, aged 102. Known as Millie, she lived in Peoria and in north Phoenix for over two decades following the death of her husband, Walter Toedebusch. Millie was born Aug. 24, 1915 in St. Louis, Mo., the second child of August Frederick Richter (b. ~1884), a native of Missouri, and Paulina (or Pauline) Mae Richter, nee Casey, born 1891 in Ireland. Her siblings were Helen (b. 1917) and Robert (b. 1913). Her mother Paulina died during the influenza pandemic of 1919 when Millie was four years old. Soon her father was married again, to Anna H. Mueller, a widow whose first husband’s name was Gaul. Anna bore August two more daughters, Gladys (b. 1921) and Doris (b. 1926). The large Richter family, which also included Anna’s son Harold, lived on Theodosia Avenue in St. Louis and were part of the flourishing German-American community in the 1920s and 1930s. Millie graduated in 1933 from Soldan High School a few years after playwright Tennessee Williams was a student there. Williams mentioned Soldan by name in his play "The Glass Menagerie," and like the play’s main character, Millie went on to a secretarial school in St. Louis. After completing her training, she moved to Detroit, Mich. with two female classmates -- an act of independence she often spoke proudly of. In Detroit, she had a brief, unhappy marriage, something she refused to speak of in her later years. Then she married Walter Toedebusch (b. 1909), a native of St. Louis, the son of Henry and Ida Toedebusch. They had no children. Millie and Walt lived for many years in Detroit, where she worked as a secretary. She once was employed by Jack Ruby, the man who in 1963 shot Lee Harvey Oswald. Her other brush with infamy was her presence at a Detroit area restaurant on the day in 1975 when Jimmy Hoffa was last seen alive there. Millie was known as athletic and a good swimmer. She enjoyed dancing and playing cards. They retired to Ozark Acres, Ark., where Walt built their retirement home. Following Walt’s death in 1995, Millie moved to the Phoenix, Ariz. area, residing for several years on West Union Hills Blvd. She then lived for several years in Peoria, Ariz., in the Vista Del Rio development, in the Casa Del Rio development, and finally in a group home. During her years in Arizona, she remained active and mentally sharp despite dealing with chronic arthritis pain and other physical issues. She read books, watched Diamondbacks baseball on TV, avidly followed news events, and was especially fond of playing bingo. She corresponded frequently with her nephews and nieces, and her writing, penmanship, sentence structure and grammar were perfect almost to the end. She died after all her siblings, the last of that generation of the Richter family. She is survived by several nephews and nieces. A memorial service will be held at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 28, at Casa Del Rio, 12751 N Plaza Del Rio Blvd., Peoria.