We called her “My Angel”. Helen Kirchem Ruecker Rout was loaned to us and graced our world for 87 years. Mother joined her Lord this past Saturday, April 14, 2007. She was born in Galveston, Texas on March 20, 1920 to Johanna and Theodore Kirchem of German descent. Her home in Galveston eventually became a landmark for the historical society which she was able to tour some fifty years later. Wow, what memories! Mother had two nicknames in her younger years: “Red” for her gorgeous hair and “Legs” which I guess doesn’t need any explanation.
She first joined hand with Fred Ruecker whom she tragically lost after ten months of marriage to the Texas City Disaster in 1947. Several years later, she married our father James Leon Rout, lived in Houston, and together raised four children. Mother’s passion and hobby was her family. She gave up being an executive secretary to become a full-time mom, something none of us children ever regretted.
Do you remember “Morse Code”? Mom and dad used to have Morse code parties once a week; coffee, dessert, and competitions. We got to join in later when we could sit still! We had so much fun. Mom was a great cook- her chicken and dumplings filled the house with a mouth-watering aroma and tasted even better. In those days, everything was made form scratch. We used to help her make and cut the dough, which she then tirelessly dropped into the pot, strip by strip. And what a gardener she was! Our parents had a vegetable garden and all I’ll say is that their cherry tomatoes where the sweetest, juiciest tomatoes I’ve ever tasted. (However, in all honesty, my uncle’s are quite good too.) Our home wasn’t big, just the basics, (three boys in one bedroom!), but her yard was repeatedly entered and showcased in what they called the “Azalea Trail” in Houston. This woman had a gift for making things grow, one of the passions I gratefully inherited from her.
Mama loved to dance. The stories she told! She loved high-heels. Her old boss gifted her with a pair when they reunited for a visit some sixty years later. She and dad used to dance and jitterbug in the living room. We would join in and laugh so much. Mom loved music. She used to sing for weddings and funerals in Galveston. She loved to try out new restaurants and the faces we would make! And travel-whether with her children (especially Pepper) or by TV to see the world and what it had to offer.
Mother faced many tragedies in her life. Her faith has been the steady beacon that’s guided her through all the rough waters. She loved lighthouses and has kept one lit in her house for the past eleven years. She has been happy to call St. Jude’s her spiritual home and haven. We lost daddy twenty years ago and her sister, Gloria Brecher just last summer, and the death of her youngest child, Shecky, on Thanksgiving Day 2005. It was our first family reunion in twelve years. Shecky passed away and her heart has ached ever since.
Mom leaves behind two sons, Bryon Rout and his wife Shirley, and their two children, Crystal and Brandon, and Pepper Rout and his wife Suzi and their two dogs; daughter, Tina Seal and her husband Steve, and their two children, Wade and Brett; daughter-in-law, Cathy Rout, and her two children, Nicholas and Elizabeth; brother, Theodore Kirchem and his “Horde” of children; nieces, nephews, great grandchildren and adopted family friends are mourning her loss. She was always there for us…and still is. We have such a legacy, so much more than trinkets left behind. Her heart and soul shine forth in everything we see, do, think, and feel. I think you get the jist of it: mother loved devotedly and was loved passionately by so many. We are sure that family members greeted her enthusiastically at the Lord’s gates. We are grateful for the treasured years we had with her and will sorely miss her. But, what better place could she rest and dance than with her Lord? Mama, we love you!
A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated 2:00 p.m. Saturday, April 21, 2007 at St. Jude Thaddeus Catholic Church under the direction of Broussard’s, 1605 North Major Drive, Beaumont. A graveside service will be 2:00 p.m. Sunday, April 22, 2007 at Galveston Memorial Park in Hitchcock, Texas. A Christian Vigil will be 7:00 p.m. Friday, April 20, 2007 at the mortuary.
