- Date Of Birth: July 25, 1931
- Date Of Death: July 16, 2011
- State: Indiana
Wilfred L. “Willie” Bueter, 79, of Edwardsburg, passed away peacefully at 9:15 a.m. Saturday, July 16, 2011, at the Elkhart Hospice House after an extended illness.
He was born July 25, 1931, in Elkhart, Ind., to the late John and Catherine (Schuckenbruk) Bueter, where he lived until 1977 when he moved to Edwardsburg.
He was a fixture in downtown Elkhart for more than 50 years as owner/operator for Bueter’s Sewing Center, where he would busy himself with “keeping everyone in stitches.” Friendly, generous and outgoing, Willie never seemed to know a stranger. Even waitresses miles away from Elkhart knew that his stock response to their usual greeting of “How are you today?” would be “My ankle hurts a little down here on the bottom side.” While operating the sewing center, he won several awards for his sales of Viking sewing machines, of which Willie’s shop was the oldest Viking distributor in the U.S. He was a prominent local landlord for more than 30 years.
One of his greatest enjoyments was skiing, and he was well known as a ski instructor at the Swiss Valley Ski Resort in Jones, where he specialized in teaching the blind and disabled to ski. He also ran the “Down Under Ski Shop,” which was located below his sewing business downtown and was past president of the Viking Ski Club.
He was a 1949 graduate of Elkhart High School and a veteran of the U.S. Army. Other memberships include American Legion Post 365 and VFW Post 2284, both of Edwardsburg, Elkhart Moose Lodge 599, and the Punta Gorda (Fla.) Elks Lodge 2606. He was also a member of Our Lady of the Lake Catholic Church in Edwardsburg, but grew up at the St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church in Elkhart, where he was a 4th Degree Knight with the Knights of Columbus Council 1043.
Surviving are the love of his life and sweetheart for 20 years, Connie Dalrymple of Union; sons Michael A. (Lori) and Chuck D. (Beth) Bueter, both of Elkhart, John P. (Rhonda) Bueter of Baldwin and Andy K. Bueter of Niles; Connie’s children, Cathy Boyer, Julie (Dave) Lorenz, Rachel Kohn and Mike Dalrymple; sisters Elizabeth (Paul) Rodewald, Joann (Dale) Blosser and Sister Kathleen Bueter of St. Mary’s at Notre Dame; and grandchildren Jennifer, Brandon, Brett, Christopher, Katie, Brittany, Jordan, Sean and Morgan Bueter, Ashley Boyer, Nathan, Philip, Lindsey and Amanda Lorenz, Samantha Stone, Jared and Lauren Kohn and Brock Schmidt.
Preceding him in death were his parents; the mother of his children, Catherine (Leege) Bueter; brothers John and Norbert Bueter; and sisters Aurelia Lauer, Dorothy and Mary Bueter, Frances Lorenz and Virginia Ely.
