Eleanor Kuss

Eleanor V. Kuss - A Big Smile and a Helping Hand for Everyone Eleanor Vilas Kuss "Ellie" learned early that she was happiest in her own life when she was doing whatever she could to bring joy to other people. From the time she was a little girl accompanying her mother on visits to hospitalized children, Mrs. Kuss took great pleasure in helping others ?À? friends, family, and total strangers who were never strangers for long. Whether it was through her career, her volunteer work, or looking after her friends and neighbors, Mrs. Kuss was always ready to lend a hand to brighten someone else's life. Mrs. Kuss died Thursday, April 2, 2009. She was 85 and a resident of Hamlet Village in Chagrin Falls. Eleanor Gertrude Vilas was born on July 30th, 1923 in Cleveland. She was the youngest of six children of Malcolm Burt Vilas and Helen Bradley Vilas. She grew up on Stillman Road in Cleveland Heights and graduated from Hathaway Brown School 1941 and Vassar College, class of 1945-4. After finishing college in December of 1944, Miss Vilas decided to join some of her friends for a vacation in Florida. There she met her husband, Milton Gerald "Jerry" Kuss of Fairmont, Minnesota. Mr. Kuss was working in Florida as a radar instructor following his recent return from Italy, where he had been a B-24 navigator in the 15th Air Force. They married on July 5th, 1945 and decided to make their home in Cleveland, where Mrs. Kuss' family had lived for generations. Mrs. Kuss' interests and career choices always revolved around helping other people. For a number of years, she taught at a school for emotionally and physically challenged children, occasionally bringing along her own children to help. When she was in her early 40s, she decided it might be fun to obtain her real estate license; soon she became a "real estate lady" for Agatha Landy Realty, a career that lasted for 32 years. Her self-proclaimed specialty was out-of-towners; she loved introducing them to her hometown, and she inevitably converted them into full-fledged friends. In 1976, Mr. and Mrs. Kuss moved from their empty nest in Shaker Heights to Medina, where they owned and operated a Town & Country Driving School franchise for the next six years and then enjoyed their retirement with friends, family and travel until Mr. Kuss died in 1996. Mrs. Kuss loved sports and games of all kinds. When she was a child, her uncle, Alva Bradley, owned the Cleveland Indians, and she remained an avid and optimistic Tribe fan through the great and not-so-good years, attending her last game on her 85th birthday. She also enjoyed bridge, bowling, ice-skating, swimming, tennis and golf, and was a 25-year member of the Mayfield Country Club. She never missed an opportunity to volunteer at area golf tournaments, and her "altruism" was rewarded when she was once chosen to keep score for Arnold Palmer. He was always her favorite, but she adored him even more after that. Mrs. Kuss was a long-time volunteer through the Junior League of Cleveland. She engaged in countless volunteer activities over the years, giving generously of her time to many organizations, including St. Luke's Hospital and Akron Children's Hospital. In her later years, she and her husband volunteered for the Red Cross of Summit County, driving patients to doctor's appointments. And every December, she could be spotted all over town in her station wagon filled with carton after carton of the pecans she sold to raise money for the Vassar Scholarship Fund. After her husband passed away, Mrs. Kuss was so impressed with the care he had received through the Hospice of Visiting Nurse Service in Akron that she decided to become a weekly volunteer. Each Monday for more than eight years, she arrived at the hospice to spend a cheerful day serving from the family kitchen, assembling information packages or just sitting with patients who needed a hand to hold. In addition to her husband, to whom she was married for almost 51 years, Mrs. Kuss was preceded in death by her sisters Ann Pease, Mary "Sunny" Myers, Helen Ginn, and Catherine "Cocky" Davidson; and her brother Malcolm B "Frat" Vilas. Mrs. Kuss is survived by her three children, Edward M. Kuss of Russell; Helen K. Ewen of Chappaqua, NY; Catherine V. Kuss of Danville, CA; her daughter-in-law, Patricia Kuss; her son-in-law Danilo Purlia; six grandchildren, Kris Kuss, Carrie Kuss Denning, Timothy Kuss, Nicholas Ewen, Alexander Ewen, and Meredith Ewen; and many nieces and nephews. The family wishes to express its gratitude to her companion, Edward Sarkisian of Chagrin Falls, who through his love and care earned a place in her heart and in her family. The family prefers that those who wish may make contributions in her name to Visiting Nurse Service, 3368 Ridgewood Rd., Akron, OH 44333 www.vnsa.com or Alzheimer's Assn. Cleveland Area Chapter, P.O. Box 74924, Cleveland, OH 44194-4924 www.alz.org A memorial service will be held Monday, April 6th at 2 PM in St Paul's Episcopal Church, 2747 Fairmount Blvd., Cleveland Heights. FRIENDS MAY CALL AT BROWN-FORWARD FUNERAL HOME, 17022 CHAGRIN BOULEVARD, SHAKER HEIGHTS, OHIO SUNDAY FROM 3-5 PM


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