THELMA NADINE YOUTSLER RUSSELO

RUSSELO, Thelma Nadine Youtsler, 1919-2019. Inside that dash was 100 years of love, family, grit, and literature. Born August 13, 1919 in Jellico, Tennessee to Minnie Lee and Henry Harrison Stepp, Thelma married Vance Joseph Russelo in 1938. Together, they are survived by three daughters: Nancy Susan Miller, Linda Kay Lehmkuhl, and Vancyne Joann Storck; eight grandchildren: Jennifer Wright (Steve), Melinda Forkner, Vance Lehmkuhl (Cindy), Jeffrey Miller, Connan Lehmkuhl, Juliann Jones, Ryan Wetz, Molly Thrasher (John); 14 great grandchildren; 10 great-great grandchildren, and a great-great-great grandchild. In her lifetime, she was surrounded by five generations that began with the love story between her and Vance. She was preceded in death by her parents, brother Russell Stepp and second husband Ed Youtsler. During WWII and after being widowed in 1964, Thelma continued to raise her youngest daughter in her West Middletown home. She later worked as a Children’s Librarian at Middletown Public Library for 25 years, fostering a love of books with her own children and grandchildren. Her penchant for words included a passion for Scrabble – which she played with anyone who visited, with looser rules than dictated by the creators of the game. She was also a music lover – everything from opera to the Beatles and she instilled this love in her daughters. Thelma, affectionately called Mimi by her grandchildren, created memories with her family throughout her 100 years. She was a fastidious journaller, filling dozens of notebooks over her lifetime. She was also an avid letter writer, chronicling her history on paper and corresponding with friends and family afar as late as in her 98th year of life. She was enamored with Christmas light displays, true crime books, and crossword puzzles. She loved being surrounded by family. Any occasion that brought her together with food, family, conversation and laughter made her happy. And ice cream; she always had a hankering for ice cream. It might have been her secret for a long, happy life. Thelma passed away peacefully in her sleep Saturday morning, October 12, 2019. A funeral service will be held on Wednesday, October 16, 2019 at 2:00 p.m. at the Herr-Riggs Funeral Home, 210 S. Main St., Middletown, with Dr. Dan Flory officiating. Interment will be at Woodside Cemetery, Middletown. Arrangements by Herr-Riggs Funeral Home, 210 S. Main St., Middletown. Condolences may be sent to the family at www.herr-riggs.com

THELMA NADINE YOUTSLER RUSSELO

August 13, 1919 - October 12, 2019