Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties

Idele 'Didi' Marguerite (Rahn) Hannula

HURLEY, Wis. - Idele "Didi" Marguerite (Rahn) Hannula, 81, of Hurley, passed away peacefully on Sept. 9, 2014, at Villa Maria Health and Rehab Center in Hurley.

Idele was born in Newberry, Mich., on March 25, 1933, the only child of Lyal Rahn and Geraldine (Morris) Rahn and was named after her grandmother, Idele Morris, so her mother nicknamed her Didi.

She lived in Michigan for a few years, then in Park Ridge, Ill., for a few years and then settled in Saxon. Didi graduated from Hurley high school in 1950. After graduation, she went to work at the White Cross Pharmacy in Hurley, where she met the love of her life, Roy Hannula. Roy came in to buy a comb one day in March and three months later they married on June 28, 1952. They celebrated their 59th anniversary the year Roy passed.

Roy and Didi lived in Hurley for three years during which time Didi gave birth to daughters Jeri and Pam.

They moved to Illinois in 1955 for Roy to find work. In December of 1956, they moved to Hoffman Estates, Ill., where they lived until Roy's passing in 2011.

Idele was a very busy housewife. She was part of the Women's Group, Card Club and on a bowling league, and was an assistant Girl Scout Leader for Pam's troop. They joined St. Peter Lutheran Church in 1964 and she volunteered on many committees over the years. Her hobbies were gardening, canning tomatoes, fishing, boating, traveling, water aerobics and playing Uno and other games with her grandchildren.

Didi and the girls would spend every summer in the Saxon-Hurley area to be with family and friends. She helped her grandmother, Idele, tend bar at her little place in the woods called "Idele's Hideout." After her grandmother passed and Roy retired, they spent nine months a year up north running Idele's Hideout. They enjoyed meeting people from all over who came up hunting, fishing, skiing and snowmobiling.

After Roy's passing, Didi moved back to Hurley and spent her last three years in the Villa Maria Health & Rehab Center.

She is survived by her daughters, Jeraldine (Gerald) Gros and Pamela (John) O'Shea; loving grandchildren, Lauren Gros, Cameron Gros, Katie (Andrzej) Czarny and Anna O'Shea; and her only great-grandchild, Adina Gros.

A visitation will be held on Saturday, Sept. 20, 2014, at 9:30 a.m. until the time of the funeral service at 11 a.m. at St. Peter Lutheran Church and interment will follow at the St. Peter Cemetery.

The family of Idele would like to express our sincere appreciation to the staff at Villa Maria for the exceptional care they provided to our Mother. Their kindness and compassion made her feel at home there. God bless you all.

Memorial gifts may be directed to St. Peter Lutheran Church and School, 202 East Schaumburg Road Schaumburg, IL 60194.