(Founding Member Of Swanton Rotary Club)
Paul Kreuz, 91, passed away peacefully at his Elm Street home in Swanton on December 23. He was the elder of two sons of Lawrence and Leona (Meiring) Kreuz.
He grew up on his family’s farm in Harding Township and attended the Immaculate Conception School and Swanton High School, graduating in 1951.
He worked at Brick’s Greenhouse and in construction before serving in the U.S. Army for two years. In 1955, while on leave from Fort Lewis (Tacoma WA) he married his high school sweetheart, Ila Mae Noe, at St. Richard Catholic Church.
After his military discharge, Paul returned to Swanton and worked as a meat cutter for Judson’s Food Market. He also established a nursery, and in 1962 opened Paul’s Flowers and greenhouse on South Main Street, where he established himself as a fixture of Swanton’s merchant community.
As one of the founders of the Rotary Club of Swanton in 1962, he served as the group’s president in 1972-73 and was the club’s last surviving founding member.
Paul was proud of his decades-long perfect attendance record at weekly meetings. He made a point of maintaining his streak by visiting clubs around the country when vacationing with his family.
Paul was also a member of the Swanton Volunteer Fire Department for many years. His children well remember hearing the two-tone alerts and dispatch announcements blaring from his “fire radio” at any time of the day or night and dad tearing off in his car to join the other firefighters.
In 1992 he established Paul’s Trailite Sales (later, Heartland Enterprises) and was the tri-state distributor for the Marine Division of Triton Trailers.
He sold the flower shop in 1995 and retired a few years later but continued his involvement with the Rotarians and with the fire department. He also oversaw the construction and upkeep of Pilliod Park and Rotary Park.
In 2003 Paul and Ila became the proud owners of a vacation cottage in Coldwater MI. For fifteen years they enjoyed spending summers at North Lake, often in the company of their children, grandchildren, and Ila’s mother, Bernetta Noe.
Paul greatly enjoyed giving boat rides to his family and fishing with his neighbors and friends. He also became a NASCAR devotee and enjoyed watching the races on TV.
Left to mourn and to cherish Paul’s memory are his brother Chuck and wife Judy (Point Place), brother-in-law Jim and wife Liz (New Albany OH), son Roger (Memphis TN), grandson Stephen (Tarboro NC), granddaughter Kelly and husband Cory Bryant (Elgin OR), great-grandchildren Carolina and Maddy Bryant, son-in-law Joe Reilly (Westerville OH), daughter-in-law Szeren Varin (Hobe Sound FL), and many cousins and friends as well as former business associates and employees.
He was predeceased in 2014 by Ila, his loving wife of 59 years, his son Dan in 2019, and by his daughter Becky Reilly earlier this year.
Visitation will be held Saturday, January 4th from 3 to 6 pm at the Weigel Funeral Home in Swanton, where a Vigil service will begin at 6:00 pm. A Funeral Mass for Paul will be celebrated Saturday, January 25th at 11:00 am at St. Richard Catholic Church, with Fr. Eric Culler presiding. Interment will follow in the St. Richard’s Memorial Garden.