When I first met Denise I felt like she had already known me my whole life. She was very inviting and caring and interested in knowing all about me. She would tell me stories about the pets she had over the years, she remembered all their names and stories about each one. Her dogs were well taken care of and spoiled. It was obvious that she would do anything to help her pets and that she loved them as her family. Her dog Nicky who lived with her in Florissant and at her condo was the perfect companion for her. He would go outside with her and meet the neighbors to socialize with their pets. I could tell the bond that Denise had with him was very special and that she did everything she felt like she could for Nicky. One of the stories that Denise shared with me was about living in Holland when she was very young. She mentioned that during the war soldiers would come to their house and demand that her mom cook a meal for them. She would have to go to their garden to pick vegetables and her mother would prepare the meal. She also said the soldiers would take whatever they wanted and pretty much everything her family had was there's. She mentioned that they never knew when they would hear knocking on their door. Later on in her life she would always keep lots of snacks in the kitchen. She called them goodies and would usually have twinkies and other pastry snacks. Of course not all of the goodies were for her. She kept many goodies for her dog Nicky who definitely got his fair share. The dogs in the neighborhood would stop by daily for their treats and goodies like Dreamer, Marco & Wolfgang. Another story that she shared with me was about the boat they took to get here from Holland. She talked about how excited they were making the journey for a great opportunity. I enjoyed the times she would teach me Dutch words and she always would call Nicky “snootika”. One Christmas I got her a wordsearch puzzle book that was Dutch words that she really liked. Finally, because Denise had a tough time hearing so I would use the thumbs up and thumbs down to answer questions about how she was feeling and doing, she thought that was funny. I’m really glad that I was able to have Denise as a part of my life. I will miss her stories and her love for dogs forever. She was a wonderful grandma and I know that she will be watching over me forever.

I can't begin to imagine how much I am going to miss my mom.  She will be in my heart forever. She made so many sacrifices for me growing up I can't begin to say.  She made sure to give me the best of everything.  She sent me to good schools and made sure I went to college.  She did love everyone. She loved having people around.  I think she invented the long goodbye...You know it.  Start in the family room, stand up, say bye, follow through the kitchen....still saying bye.....living room....doorway....front porch....finally up to the car.  Then stand and wave until you can't see the tail lights anymore.  Cold winter night, didn't matter....wait to be sure they are really leaving.  She loved people to be there and didn't want them to go.  I still have a hard time today when people leave my house I stand by the door and wave until they are gone.  We always had a big family Sunday dinner. We would play board games.  Aggravation was our favorite one.  We also played a lot of card games.  I remember playing some fierce battles with her at Rack-O.  She would pretty much do anything to entertain me.    All of my friends did love to come over.  She would hang out with us and fit right in.  They would tell me how cool my mom was.  Here is something you may or may not know about her....she could juggle.  I mean really juggle.  She could bounce balls off the wall and stuff.  It was pretty awesome! She really had a lot of great times and made some really great friends. I am very proud of her to live on her own as long as she did.  I tried many times to get her a wheel chair or a scooter to get around on but she would have nothing to do with it.  She walked her entire life to get where she needed to be and she wasn't going to stop now. During her last few years she slowed down but never gave up.  She was a fighter and super strong person.  She worked hard at Delmar Gardens in rehab and was able to get home twice and spend more time at home with her dog Nicky.  (And speaking of Nicky, he is enjoying his new home with Nellie and Gene).  Covid made it difficult for her as she needed to learn some new technology on the fly....FaceTime.....well that was interesting.  She just recently accepted that we could take a picture of her with a phone and now all of a sudden we are live on the screen.  She never really understood the sit still and try to stay on the screen part, we spent a lot of time talking to her forehead or maybe her left ear...or the floor.  I am very grateful that after six months of not being able to visit her, Nellie was able to see her on Thursday and I was able to see her on Friday.  She passed away very peacefully in her sleep early Saturday morning.

A little over 15 years ago I married Dennis and became a part of the Ruskus family. Denise immediately made Ethan and I feel part of the family. Our visits on the weekend were filled with her stories of growing up in Holland. She still had that dutch accent and occasionally would throw in a dutch word during conversation. She would always ask about my family back in Kansas City and after my mom passed would ask for updates on how "grandpa George" was doing. We both shared a love for plants and flowers. She was always working in her garden and taking care of her flowers and plants. We also enjoyed doing crafty projects. She was always busy doing something she could never sit for too long before she was rearranging, straightening up, making a meal or feeding the wild animals outside. I remember how she would sit in her chair watching the bunnies, squirrels, birds and occasional chipmunk nibbling on something right out her back door. I will always remember her smile and love for animals and how she really enjoyed conversations about other people's lives. She was one strong lady and will be remembered in my heart forever.