Obit: Macaruso, Linda Lee (1946 - 2013)

Contact: Dolores (Mohr) Kenyon
E-mail: dolores@wiclarkcountyhistory.org 

Surnames: Macaruso, Wuethrich, Belda, Potter, Mattes, Stump

----Source: Clark County Press (Neillsville, Clark Co., WI) 6/05/2013

Macaruso, Linda Lee (1 October 1946 - 25 February 2013)

Linda Lee (Wuethrich) Macaruso, 66, died of a heart attack Feb. 25, 2013, at her home in Lantana, FL.

Linda was born Oct. 1, 1946, in Black River Falls and subsequently adopted by her late parents, Lee Allen and Nellie Wuethrich of Greenwood. She completed her bachelor’s degree in K-12 education and art at Mount Scenario College, Ladysmith, where she met her late husband, Victor Macaruso. Linda was a lifelong teacher who encouraged a love of learning and nurtured creativity in every student she encountered. She began her teaching career as a second-grade teacher in the Neillsville area in the mid-1960’s. She continued her career as a kindergarten teacher and taught several other grades in a time span of over 15 years at Our Lady of Sorrows Catholic School in Ladysmith. Linda spent the final five years of her employment teaching her true passion, K-12 art at Cornell Public Schools in Cornell.

In her younger years, she took advantage of all Wisconsin had to offer with her love for riding horses, snowmobiling and driving her speedboat on Lake Holcombe. It was never a complete trip for Linda if she didn’t take the scenic route or a road less traveled in her many journeys across the country and abroad. Linda was a true artist who was not only passionate about creating art but also looked at the world and saw the beauty as only an artist can. She had many creative talents and her life-long passion for art meant that no medium was left unexplored during her lifetime.

She is survived by her brother, Samuel Wuethrich; three children, Melissa (Jeffrey) Belda of Schaumburg, IL, Mario (Sarah) Macaruso of Minneapolis, MN, and Monica (Shawn) Potter of Alexandria, MN; her two grandchildren, Malayna Belda and Isaac Potter; and cousins Dallas Wuethrich, Diane Mattes and Dawn Stump.

Please join in celebrating Linda’s life at her memorial service being held Saturday, June 15, 2013, at 11 a.m. at Our Lady of Sorrows Catholic Church, 611 1st Street South, Ladysmith. Following the service, a luncheon will be held at Club 8 Supper Club, 9594 US Hwy 8, Ladysmith, where good food and stories about Linda’s life will be shared.

To help buy books for children and to commemorate Linda’s enthusiasm and passion for literature and early reading, in lieu of flowers, donations “In Memory of Linda Macaruso” may be sent to The Dollywood Foundation Imagination Library, 2700 Dollywood Parks Blvd., Pigeon Forge, TN 37863. Website: http://imaginationlibrary.com/shop/Donate-to-Dolly-Parton-s-Imagination-Library.html. Or local donations, “In Memory of Linda Macaruso” may be made to the Rusk County Community Library, 418 Corbett Ave. W., Ladysmith, WI 54848