Rudolf "Rudi" Thill
March 07, 2010
Rudolf Thill passed away Sunday, March 7, 2010. A memorial service will be held 11 a.m. Saturday, March 13th at the Cathedral Church of St. Paul, 815 High Street, Des Moines. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the church.
Rudi was born on July 18, 1924 in Katscher, Germany to Alfons and Martha Siegert-Thill. As a young man during WW II he was drafted and sent to fight in the Afrika Korps. After six months he was captured by the Allies to spend over three years in prisoner of war camps in Tennessee and Texas where his respect and understanding of Democracy grew to cause him to return later to become a citizen.
After the war Rudi was sponsored to come to America. His first job was as a night porter at the Hotel Savery. He enrolled at Drake University and often walked there from the hotel to attend classes. He received his undergraduate and Master’s degree there, and continued to work on a PhD at the University of Iowa. He spent many happy years as a Professor of History and German at Grand View College. In his retirement he wrote Adrift In Stormy Times, a memoir of his life in Germany and America.
Rudi loved travel, art, photography, music, cooking, gardening, all nature and especially bricklaying, a craft learned professionally while in Germany. The Gardenhouse, his biggest and most prized project, was the place where he and Sigrid were married. It was also the place of many parties and events such as the family Thanksgiving dinners.
Rudi is survived and will be dearly missed by his wife, Sigrid; son, Stephen (Iris); step children, Thomas Dickson (Janell), Robert Dickson (Lizabeth), Emily Gaylord (James); sister, Margarete (Fritz) Schmid of Germany; grandson, Koen; step grandchildren, Callie Dickson, Bradley Dickson, Molly Dickson, Max Dickson, Anne Gaylord, Jeremy Gaylord; nephews, Rudolf Schmid, Rupert Schmid; niece, Johanna Deubler all of Germany; adopted family, Diane Nguyen, Hai Pham (Anna), Loni Pham, Cindy Moore (Chad), Anne Pham, and Mary Pham.
Rudi’s family expresses a special thank you to Ramsey Village for the loving care given to Rudi and his family.
On-line condolences to:
www.HamiltonsFuneralHome.com
Rhonda Ortale
03/11/2010
So sorry to hear of Professor Thill's passing. What a great teacher I enjoyed all his classes immensely. I would see him several times at Dahls on Fleur and he alwsys stopped and talked. I remember him asking him after his retirement, how was he enjoying it and he commented that "it took very little to keep him busy".
William Ewald
03/11/2010
Dear Thill family,
I want to express my sympathy at the death of your loved one, Rudy Thill. He was a student teacher under Glenn Buhr in my German class at Roosevelt, I think in the year 1960. I still remember him teaching us the Faust unit from our text GERMAN HERITAGE, as well as correcting and improving our grammar in a strong but gentle way. I later became a German teacher, and married another German classmate, who has also been teaching for more than 40 years. Rudy certainly had some influence on my choice of German as my major. It has brought my wife and me to Germany of various occasions two dozen times, and we feel the benefits of celebrating two languages and cultures on a regular basis.
My brother Robert also became a German teacher, and though he was two years younger than I, might have had Rudy in class as well. He is now retired in Ames, Iowa, and I am partially retired in Oak Park IL near Chicago.
May God bless you and comfort you in your time of sadness.
William Ewald
Associate Prof. of Business and German Emeritus
Concordia University Chicago
Donna Davilla
03/11/2010
Sigrid,
My deepest sympathy goes out to you at this most difficult time. Rudi was an exceptional man and I know that he will be deeply missed. My heart goes out to you and your family at this difficult time.
Sincerely,
Donna Davilla
Tom Weed
03/11/2010
So sorry to hear of Professor Thill's passing. I took every class he taught while I was at GVC. What an excellent Professor, with a great sense of humor and dedication to teaching. He loved to speak about coming to America and what he discovered once here. During one class he showed us the "goose step" so loudly that the Professor from the room below came up and asked him to stop as she was giving a test and the noise was distracting her class. Quite a number of years later, I ran into him at Dahl's on Fluer and he remembered me the moment I said hello to him.
Tom Weed
Burnsville, MN
Drake'71,Drake'75
Julie T. Simon
03/10/2010
What a treasure he was, and an excellent Prof -- early morning classes, pop quizzes and all. I was fortunate to be invited to some social gatherings at the Gardenhouse: The Early Years.
The first time, I thought it was an informal dinner with some other students. I walked in to discover the guest list included three students (me and the two guys I went with), GVC President Karl Langrock, several faculty members, and their spouses. Geesh! Rudi -- undoubtedly amused by my wide eyes and open mouth -- escorted me on the Green Bottle tour in the backyard and then to my place at the table, which of course was between Rudi and the Prez.
And yes, it was a remarkably fun and unpretentious evening!
Julie T. Simon
GVC '75 Drake '76