Caroline M. Bertoline, 85, of Norway, Mich., died Monday, July 25, 2011, at Dickinson County Memorial Hospital in Iron Mountain, Mich.
Born April 25, 1926, on a farm in Kendall, she was the ninth child of 14 brothers and sisters and the daughter of the late James and Marie (Langsdorf) Sullivan.
When she was about 4 years old, her family moved to an Ontario farm, where she helped with the chores of a large garden, milking, haying and threshing. She graduated from Ontario High School in 1945.
Following graduation, she moved to La Crosse and lived with her older sister Louise and worked in the office of her sister’s husband. While in La Crosse, she also worked for a local family, caring for their children. In 1946, she moved to Detroit and began working as a nanny for a family in Grosse Point, Mich.
She met her husband, the late Robert C. Bertoline of Vulcan, Mich., in 1946 at the wedding of her sister Dorothy. They married July 3, 1948, at St. Charles Catholic Church in Detroit. They made their home in Roseville, Mich., before moving to Norway, Mich., in 1962, where together they ran Bob’s Standard Service for 12 years.
Caroline also worked as a custodian at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Norway for five years. She then worked as a custodian at Norway-Vulcan Area Schools for 15 years. She retired in 1987, along with her late husband, enjoying traveling and casino hopping.
Caroline enjoyed canning vegetables from her husband’s vegetable garden, and she was well known for her homemade pasties, pizzelles and ravioli. She thoroughly enjoyed cooking and baking for her family. Her handmade quilts have donned the beds of her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
She was a member of the Norway-Vulcan Senior Center, where she was a sitting board member and volunteer. She was a member of St. Mary Catholic Church of Norway. She was a member of the Altar Society and the Daughters of Isabella. Caroline volunteered at the St Vincent de Paul store in years past and at St. Mary Church.
She was a loving mother and enjoyed spending time with her grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
Caroline is survived by her children, daughters Kathryn (Dwayne) Reath of Gladstone, Mich., and Anna (Fuzzy) Anderson of Norway and son Gary (Ada) Bertoline of West Lafayette, Ind.; her grandchildren, Angela (Jerry) Hansen, James (Stacey) Reath, Shannon (Jeffery) Stanbury, Beau (Brittany) Anderson, Bryan (Vanessa) Bertoline, Kevin Bertoline and Carolyn Bertoline; her great-grandchildren, Gunnar and Tannar Hansen, Hope Reath, Jakob Bertoline, Julia McKinley and Tobi Anderson; her sisters, Gertrude Sullivan of the convent of Our Lady of Victory Missionary Sisters in Huntington, Ind., Margaret Laufenberg of Cashton, Jane Giese of Ontario and Marie (Harold) Brueggen of Sparta; her sisters-in-law, Pat Sullivan of Ontario and Mildred Sullivan Witt and Kay Sullivan, both of Tomah; one brother-in-law, Harold Brueggen of Sparta; along with many nieces, nephews, cousins and friends.
Caroline was preceded in death by her husband of 54 years, Robert; her parents, James and Marie; her in-laws, Candido and Domenica (Pellegrini) Bertoline; her brothers, Daniel, Jeremias, Roger, and Thomas Sullivan; her sisters, Helen Schmitz, Louise Ducke Pearse, Lucille Schermerhorn, Myrtle Thomas and Dorothy Pipp; three infant siblings, Kathryne, William and James; her sisters-in-law, Anna Faull, Marie Barry, Norma Bertoline, Olivia Bilski, Lil Bertoline, Leona Carlson, Gena Sullivan, Eva Turben Sullivan and Rozella Bertoline; her brothers-in-law, George Schmitz, Kenneth Ducke, Richard Pearse, Chester Schermerhorn, Harold Thomas, Clifford Pipp, Everett Giese, Sylvester Laufenburg, Louise, Candido, Edward and Frank Bertoline, Richard Faull, Tim Barry and Henry Bilski; her nieces, Theresa Winkler, Susan Farina, Charlene Evans and Kathy Laufenberg; and her nephews, Michael and William Giese, Craig Sullivan, Jeremias and James Sullivan and David Pipp.
The Mass of Christian Burial was Friday, July 29, at St. Mary’s Church, with Fr. Mark McQuesten presiding. Interment followed at Norway Township Cemetery. The Ortman Funeral Home, Norway, assisted the family with arrangements.
