Eleanore passed away peacefully Saturday, May 27, 2023, at Mayo Clinic Health System in Fairmont, at the age of 91 years and 14 days. Lakeview Funeral Home in Fairmont is assisting the family with arrangements.

Eleanore Mae Ruff (Gruber) Mueller was born May 13, 1932, to Harry and Isabel (Moore) Ruff in Greenvale Township outside of Northfield, Minn., on the family farm as her mother had a broken leg. The family doctor rode out to the farm with a horse and buggy to deliver her.

Eleanore was the youngest of three girls. She was baptized at the age of six at Castle Rock Methodist Church. Along with Louise and Marjorie, she attended Greenvale Country School through the eighth grade and graduated from Northfield High School with the class of 1950. During her lifetime, she lived through the horse-drawn plow,the Great Depression, World War II, the Korean Conflict, the Cold War, the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, the Vietnam War and the many wars and conflicts since then, the building up and tearing down of the Berlin Wall, the coming of the space age, moon landings, a second millennium, the computer age, to having her own smart phone. Eleanore wasn’t afraid of hard work. On the farm she worked outside with her dad doing fieldwork and milking cows. In high school she worked at the Ben Franklin Store in Northfield until she graduated from high school. After high school she began working for Northwestern Bell until she met her first husband. Together, they owned and operated the Northfield Cafe. A year later they owned and operated the Yellow Cab Company where she learned to be a cab driver. In the summer months she hauled gravel until they moved to New Ulm in 1956. There she worked once again as a telephone operator at New Ulm Telephone Company. When her second child was born, she was forced to quit, but three years later (1965) she started working at Kraft Foods until she married her second husband, John D. Mueller, in 1978. With John she continued her gardening career growing tomato plants taller than herself. With some fine tuning from her telephone operator friends, Eleanore became a fantastic cook, especially of German potato salad. She put on marvelous meals at graduation, Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter. Besides cooking, she loved to work on ceramics, knit, and crochet, giving her handmade creations as gifts to others. Eleanore had a special way with animals, she befriended every animal on the farm from a dog to a pony, to 13 cows, and even raised a pet bull. Bulldogs became her favorite pets after marrying John. For the most part, Eleanore raised her two children, Linda and Gregory alone. She was a good provider, making sure they had a roof over their heads, food on the table and clothes on their backs. She took them camping, fishing and traveling. They developed a love for baseball by attending Twins games through the years. All three were (are) Minnesota Twins fans. After her move to New Ulm, Eleanore was confirmed into the Catholic faith at the Cathedral of the Holy Trinity by Bishop Alphonse Joseph Schladweiler. She made sure she and the children didn’t miss Mass.

Left to cherish her memory are her two children, Linda and Gregory (Greg) Gruber; her stepson, John A. Mueller and his wife, Ellen; grandson, John A. Mueller and his wife, Becky and their five children, Jaxon, Mason, Ayla, Jonah and Delany. Eleanore was preceded in death by her parents; her sister, Marjorie Hanson; and her husband, John. www.lakeviewfuneralhome.net

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