By Joe Winter
Catholic Herald correspondent
Family opened their home to disabled women
SOMERSET -- Parishioners at St. Anne's recently commemorated the life of a woman who raised a daughter with cerebral palsy, then used those skills and love to open a group home in her house to aid mentally disabled women.
Tillie Mary (Mielke) Jahnke died on Aug. 24 at the age of 92. Her funeral was held at St. Anne Church in Somerset. She and her family had moved from Minnesota to Emerald, Wis., also in St. Croix County, when she was a young child.
She and her husband, Leonard, had a daughter, Kathleen, and three sons: Roland of Lake Elmo, Minn., Paul of Champlin, Minn., and Joe of Somerset. There are 11 grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren.
The state-licensed group home was part of a farmstead along the Apple River and she and her husband ran it for 12 years, with as many as six women living there at one time, said Joe Jahnke.
Their group home facility began accepting clients in 1972. This period of service followed the cerebral-palsy diagnosis of their daughter, who never learned to walk or speak.
"They (the women) kept busy. They did puzzles, crocheting, gardening and other things," Joe Jahnke said, adding that baking and ice fishing also were frequent pastimes. "They went with (the Jahnkes) everywhere they went."
The women, mostly in the mid-20s, did piecework at the St. Croix Health Care Center in nearby New Richmond, and the money they made helped pay for some of the outings, instilling a sense of responsibility.
"It was important that they get out, not just stay (at the group home) all the time, especially in the winter months," Joe Jahnke said. "They were happy with the work they did. They were consistent with what they did. They took direction well."
The family felt that a farm on 200 acres, with its 3,000 square foot farmhouse, was a perfect setting for such a charitable offering, and they included their charges in all facets of their life, including recreational outings, car trips across the countryside, a visit to Disneyland, togetherness at dinners -- and especially going to church.
They would take two or three of the women on fishing trips on the nearby river, then a few days later chaperone another group, keeping the numbers small for safety reasons, Joe Jahnke said.
One woman, who had been in anumber of group homes before the Jahnke's, told Tillie Jahnke that she was so happy in their house that she wanted to continue living their until she died, Joe Jahnke said.
Even on their occasional respites, such as trips to see family members out of state, the Jahnkes felt a need to touch base frequently and call each day to talk to the people who had essentially become like adopted children to them. A family friend, Helen Owens, would stay with the women so the couple could get away to places such as California, where children had moved.
Tillie Jahnke had a flow-with-it type personality, her son Joe said. "She was a calm person and relaxed with it." That allowed her to get a much better response from the people she helped, he said. "They had a routine, and that structure really helped."
Vicki Loretz, the daughter of Paul Jahnke, shared thoughts about her grandmother at the funeral.
Tillie Jahnke, whose family held tightly to their German heritage, struggled through eight grades of schooling because she spoke very little English. But over the years she worked hard to develop excellent English skills and great penmanship.
She married Leonard John Jahnke in 1940. "Grandpa always said that a good farmer is only as good as the farmer's wife," Loretz said. "Tillie was that and helped work the farm for 60 years. She loved that farm and soon they realized the value of the land to produce crops and the food that sustains us all."
"Grandma was a caregiver all of her life," Loretz said. "Starting with grandpa, the love of her life for 63 years, she took good care of him through good times and bad until he passed away less than two years ago."
Jahnke took care of her three sons by teaching them the importance of a good education, hard work and a strong faith in the Lord, Loretz said.
"There is a story that's whispered around the Jahnke family about one of the sons returning home on a Sunday morning after a night of, oh -- adventures, while grandma and the rest of the family were just leaving for church," Loretz said in her eulogy. "Now if you knew grandma, you knew that nothing was more serious than her faith and attending church every Sunday.
"Not a single word was spoken that morning, it only took one look from grandma for him and the rest of the boys to learn that would never happen again -- and it didn't," Loretz said.
The true test of caregiving was when Kathleen, Tillie and Leonard Jahnke's only daughter, was born with cerebral palsy. As an infant, there was hope the doctors in St. Paul could help Kathleen, but as she grew older, no motor skills ever developed, Loretz said. As result, Tillie Jahnke cared for her day after day until Kathleen passed away 25 years later. The Jahnkes continued the group home for eight years after that.
"If you think she would then decide to live the life of an empty nester, because her sons had already left home, think again," Loretz said.
"One story my father remembers is one of the women asking grandma to help her learn to cook. Grandma told her that she must first learn to read so she can follow recipes," Loretz said. "Within only a few months this girl was reading and cooking the evening meal."
Tillie Jahnke was 72 years old by the time that she fully retired. "She lived on her own up until the last two weeks.
Even in the hospital, knowing the end was near, she tried to stay alive by taking encouragement from her family and friends. "Her deep faith in God guided her through 92 years, 11 months of life," Loretz said. "Her love for Jesus Christ and her belief in praying the rosary comforted her during her final days.
© Superior Catholic Herald, 2005