Louise Kuss

Louise Kuss, 94, Steele, died September 1, 2011, in her home at Steele under the care of hospice. Services will be held at 10:30 am Wednesday, September 7, at Trinity Lutheran Church in Steele with Rev. Jacob DeBoer officiating. Burial will be in Woodlawn Cemetery, Steele. Visitation will be held from 2:00 pm until 9:00 pm Tuesday, September 6, at Eastgate Steele Memorial Chapel in Steele where a prayer service will begin at 7:00 pm. Louise was born October 17, 1916, near Cavalier, ND, in Pembina County. In 1917, she moved with her family to a farm east of Tuttle, ND, where she grew up and attended school. In 1938, Louise married Henry Holzhausen who was the pastor of the American Lutheran Church and they followed a call to the Mazenod-Mossbank Parish in Saskatchewan. In 1948, they followed a call to Waldersee, Manitoba, and stayed there until 1956 when Henry suffered the first of a series of strokes. They moved to Steele in September 1956 and began to rebuild and modernize the cabins they bought from the Hjalmer Peterson estate. Within a few years, four of the cabins were sold and moved away and five unit motel built in 1964 and the name was changed to The OK Motel. She operated the motel for nearly 36 years and it remains today as Steele's oldest family owned business. While at Waldersee, in 1949, Henry's granddaughter, Clara Lue came to stay with them and lived with them until she graduated from high school. Clara Lue died on September 14, 2003. During Henry's illness, Louise received word that her sister's Elsie Leno daughter-in-law, Martha Leno was dying of cancer. There were six children and Rodney was the youngest at 13 months old. She thought to herself, why didn't she take that baby? She told her plans to Elsie and the day after Henry's funeral in 1963 Rodney was brought to her. Otto Kuss and Louise were married the following year and soon after they adopted Rodney. After 18 years, Otto moved back to Canada and Louise remained in Steele and operated the OK Motel until 1992, when Rodney and his wife Mary purchased it. Before she retired from the motel, she purchased a small home on the same block as the motel and enlarged and remodeled it and lived in it until her death. Louise loved the Lord and served him faithfully. She was a member of Trinity Lutheran Church in Steele and belonged to the Dorcas Circle. She held various offices in the ALCW and taught Sunday School for about 20 years. She helped with the quilt ministry at Trinity making quilts for Lutheran World Relief and more recently, as her health declined, she hemmed the quilts at home. She also made homemade soap for Lutheran World Relief for many years until it was discontinued. She enjoyed cooking, baking, and gardening, often sharing her harvest with friends and neighbors and with the residents at the Golden Manor in Steele. She enjoyed opening her home for holiday and birthday celebrations for family and for friends of Rodney and Mary. She is survived by her son and his wife, Rodney and Mary Kuss, Steele; a brother and his wife, Alfred and Berneice Steinke, Bismarck; and many nieces, nephews, great nieces and great nephews. She was preceded in death by her parents; her husband Henry; her brothers, Ernest, William and Theodore and her sisters, Elsie Leno and Emma Steinke.

Louise Kuss

October 17, 1916 - September 1, 2011