Ilse Apitz

Ilse Marie Ida Wuttke Apitz, 85, of Sheboygan, and longtime resident of Cedarburg, passed away peacefully on Thursday, January 13, 2022, at St. Nicholas Hospital.  She was born May 26, 1936, in Rathenow Germany to the late Johannes and Wilhemine Marie Mina (Gebhardt) Wuttke.  Ilse went to school in Tonning Northern Germany.  She grew up during WWII, life was tough for her. Ilse moved to Bornholm an island in the North Sea when she was 14 years old to work on a farm.  She later moved to the Black Forest of Germany and Naples, Italy. Ilse moved back to Stuttgart Germany where she met her husband.  In April of 1966 they moved to the United States to start raising their family.

Ilse took great pride and joy from her work at the Sheboygan County Job Center, she loved the independence it gave her, and kept her working until she was 84 years old.

Having an adventurous side, Ilse loved to travel. Her passion for interior design and fashion made her a staple at TJ Maxx and made her a fashionista extraordinaire, her favorite fashion designer was Halston.  She was an amazing cook, making many of her family’s favorites like, pork tenderloin, potato salad, crepes, lemon/orange mousse, red cabbage, and her “Ilse Salad”.  Ilse also enjoyed listening to classical music, flower gardening, and just joined the Thai Chi Class at Generations in Plymouth.  Most important to her was her family, Ilse was a talented knitter and loved to knit hats, mittens, scarves and baby blankets for not only her family but for many charities as well.  She even started knitting blankets for the humane society.

Her daughters were her pride and joy, and she loved most of all creating lasting memories with them.

Ilse is survived by her daughters, Tosca Apitz Hoffmann of Loveland, CO and Constance (Butch) Apitz Nelson of Wild Rose.

She is further survived by her grand dog Don and grand cats Dakota, Roxy, Kaiah, and Stassi (named by Ilse herself), and many nieces and nephews, Ricky (Shelia), Natalie, Erica, Ken (Diane), Gavin (Jennifer), Kayla, Lauren, Lindsey, Preston (Susan), Kim, Craig (Tricia), Spencer, John, Barry, Max, and Aaron, her extended family and countless friends.

Ilse was preceded in death by her parents, sisters, Katia Richards and Ruth Pate, and her beloved grand dogs, Pedro, Benny, Lou, Maggie and Strabo.

Per Ilse’s wishes no services will be held.

In lieu of gifts or flowers, please make a donation to the animal rescue/shelter of your choice in Ilse’s name.

The family would like to express a special thank you to the Plymouth First Responders, and the staff at St. Nicholas Hospital, Dr. Reyes, Hospice nurses, Kara and Holly, and the entire support staff, who made our mother’s passing peaceful and your show of compassion and care for us during this time. Also a special thank you to Terry and Bob at Quit Qui Oc Manor for looking out for our Mom.