Doris Edna Kuesel

Malinta - Doris Edna Kuesel, 88, of Malinta, Ohio, was surrounded by her family when she went to rest with the Lord on August 28, 2021.

She was born in Malinta on May 28, 1933, to William and Louise (Yungmann) Meienburg. On June 10, 1951, she married the love of her life, William "Willie" Kuesel, who preceded her in death in 1988. Together, they raised three children and spent their lifetimes toiling on the family farms. Doris spent the last 33 years telling stories about Willie, always with a tear in her eye and a smile on her face.

Doris loved God and her family deeply and she showed it through her everyday actions. She used her hands to serve, perpetually caring for her home, the farm and others. She was happiest when she was gardening, cooking, farming, driving tractors and trucks alongside her son, listening to her son-in-law play guitar and visiting her daughter in California. Her Mickey Mouse-shaped pancakes are world-renowned, according to her grandkids. She was a seven-decade member of St. John Lutheran Church in Deshler.

Doris was a quiet force in the family, never one to draw attention to herself. That's why some may not know of her focused pursuit of video poker and slot machine jackpots or her regular trips to Vegas with Willie and then her friend Luetta. She even surprised her family when, at the age of 83, she inspired her granddaughters to get a tattoo. For the record, Doris went first.

While she and Willie instilled a strong work ethic in multiple generations of Kuesels, they also taught their family how to love and, in doing so, how to laugh so hard that you end up crying.

She is survived by her sister, Ruth Smith of Delta; her sister-in-law Norma Kuesel of Deshler; her children Dianne (Mike) Adkins of Camden, Michigan; Bob (Mary) of Malinta; Tina (Ed) Rodriguez of Clovis, California; her grandchildren: Ty (Heather) Adkins, Tennille (Josh) Fenstermaker, Tosha (Mike) Burger, Sondra (Eric) Miller, Sarah (Tommy) Baker, Andrea (Adam) Wensink, Lucas and Lance Rodriguez, Jeff and Eric (Grace) Sullivan; 13 great-grandchildren and her treasured friend Bianca Vogel.

She was preceded in death by her sister-in-law Erika Cordes; brothers-in-law Delbert Cordes, Werner Badenhop, Otto Kuesel Jr. and Ralph Smith; and daughter-in-law Virlinda Kuesel.

Doris' family will receive friends and family at Rodenberger-Gray Funeral Home, Napoleon, on Thursday, September 16, 2021, from 3-7 p.m. A celebration of life service will be held on Friday, September 17, 2021, at 11 a.m. at St. John Lutheran Church, Deshler with the Reverend James Wenger officiating. Memorial gifts may be made to St. John Lutheran Church or Putnam County Hospice. Online messages and condolences may be shared with the family at rodenbergergray.com.