Elaine M. Rapp, 97, of Dubuque entered peacefully into Eternal Life on Friday, February 23rd, 2024 at home.

Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Monday, February 26th at the Cathedral of St. Raphael with Fr. Dennis Quint officiating. Friends and family may visit from 9:00 a.m. until the start of Mass. Burial will be at Mount Calvary Cemetery.

She was born April 29, 1926 in Peru Township, Dubuque County, the daughter of Charles and Alma Stecklein Ruff. Her ancestors were early settlers in the Sherrill area. She grew up in the North End of Dubuque where her German Catholic background shaped her character and personality.

Elaine attended Sacred Heart School and Immaculate Conception Academy. She ice skated, roller skated, played basketball and euchre, and went fishing and hunting with her Dad. Before her marriage she worked at a greenhouse, the H.B. Glover Co., and the General Dry Battery Factory.

She married Robert C. Rapp in 1945 at Sacred Heart Church. Except for a few years in Kieler and Rockdale, the couple resided in Dubuque to raise a family. Elaine later worked at the Stampfer’s Dinette until it closed and then at St. Dominic Villa until her retirement.

She bowled in a league for several years, enjoyed watching many sports (especially tennis), reading British murder mysteries, and crocheted practical items. She daily prayed the Rosary and for family (living and deceased). She got a driver’s license at age 60 and drove until age 92 with a perfect record. Elaine loved watching the birds and had a cardinal collection.

Elaine’s profound love and concern for her children, family, and friends showed itself in numberless ways, including a stream of birthday and anniversary cards for many years. Although her warm and comforting hands are no longer so, the memories she left us are. No words can truly thank her for everything she did to raise her family.

Elaine is survived by her children: Richard (Janice), Robert, Marvin, Geraldine (Harold) Dirks, Karen, Kenneth (Yvonne), Michael (Jory), Peggy (Tim) Buse, and Daniel Joseph; daughter-in-law Judy Rapp; 30 grandchildren; 50 great-grandchildren; her sister Wilma (Jack) Derks; and her Rapp in-laws Jeanne (Gerald) Fudge and Elmer Engling.

She was preceded in death by her husband Robert; her sons Ronald and Russell, and two infant sons; her parents Charles and Alma Ruff; her siblings Harold (Catherine), Carl (Irene), Virginia (Leo) Gau, Jeanette (Philip) Jungk, Philip (Shirley), Chester, Donald (Mary Jane), Alma Mae (Milton) Reisen, and Wayne (Kathy); and her Rapp in-laws Eileen (Joye) Bellings, Earl (Myra), Patricia (Harold) Kemler, John (Lillian), Marilyn Engling, and Gerald (Dixie); and several other relatives and dear friends.

She would ask that you remember her in prayer.