Merlin Ruchotzke & family

RUCHOTZKE, GEHRLS, MCCLINTOCK, VAN WAUS, SHEETS

Posted By: Sharon Elijah (email)
Date: 9/13/2019 at 10:05:24

21 July 1960 - The Tipton Conservative

The 5 members of the Merlin Ruchotzke family were wiped out in a car-truck accident on Highway 63 north of Waterloo early Monday.

Ruchotzke, 35, a 1942 graduate of Tipton high school; his wife, Virginia Rae, 36, and 2 daughters, Rene Jean, 9, and Connie Mack, 13, were instantly killed.

A third daughter, Joan Melanie, 6, died in a Waterloo hospital Monday evening.

Mass funeral services for the family will be held at Turner mortuary in Cedar Rapids at 1:30 p.m. today (Thursday). The Rev. Richard Krenz of Noelridge Baptist church and Elder L. M. Heifner of the Seventh Day Adventist church will be in charge. Burial will be at Cedar Memorial cemetery.

Death came to the family when a semi-trailer truck careened out of control after side-swiping another car and toppled over on the Ruchotzke car. The car was crushed under the truck.

Ruchotzke, who was returning to Cedar Rapids from a water-ski week-end in Minneapolis, apparently saw the truck coming down the road and pulled as far to the right on the highway as was possible and came to a stop.

The driver of the truck was charged with failure to yield one-half of the highway in a Waverly court Monday. Witnesses to the crash said that the truck was weaving on the highway prior to the accident.

The truck first collided with a car driven by Gunther Tuchel, 24, Cedar Rapids, before it rolled over 2 1/2 times as it crushed the Ruchotzke car.

Only Joan Ruchotzke was alive when authorities arrived at the scene of the accident. She was found on the floor of the front seat where she had apparently been riding with her parents. The older girls were in the back seat.

Merlin Ray Ruchotzke, son of John and Wilma Gehrls Ruchotzke, was born in Dayton township Sept. 17, 1924. He graduated from Tipton high school in 1942. He was married to Virginia McClintock July 10, 1945 at Hiawatha, Kan.

He is survived by his mother, Mrs. Wilma Ruchotzke, Tipton; a sister, Mrs. Sally Van Waus, Cedar Rapids and 3 brothers, Dale and Roger, Cedar Rapids and Don, St. Charles, Mo.

Virginia Rae, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Claire McClintock, was born Sept. 12, 1923 at Fairfax. She was a graduate of the Fairfax school and was secretary to Reid Hunt in Tipton prior to her marriage. She was a member of the Seventh Day Adventist church.

She is survived by her parents, who live in Atkins and her grandmother, Mrs. Phoebe Sheets, Palo.

Connie Mack Ruchotzke was born Jan. 7, 1947 in Cedar Rapids. Her sisters, Rene Jean and Joan Melanie were born July 20, 1950 and June 19, 1954.

The family lived at 3286 Johnson Ave. N.W. in Cedar Rapids.