Funeral Mass of Rudolph W. Wittemann

Rudolph “Rudy” Wittemann was born and raised in Brooklyn, NY. He was the only child of Rudolph, Jr., and Kathryn Wittemann. As an only child, he had to find things to entertain himself growing up and enjoyed taking photographs and keeping scrapbooks of his adventures. He collected post-cards and was an avid stamp collector. He also loved trains. He loved playing chess and even played remotely (WAY before the internet) with other players through the mail. He would mail (physical mail) his chess move to the other players and the other players would mail him back with their move. He would keep the chess board up in his room and make the moves accordingly as he received them in the mail, until the match was won. A match would often take months to complete. Rudy loved to figure out how things worked and studied engineering. He attended Brooklyn Preparatory High School and Poly Tech College in Brooklyn where he studied Civil Engineering. He then moved to Newport News, VA where he worked on the construction of the famous Bay Bridge Tunnel (Hampton Roads). This is where he met the love of his life, Dolores on a blind date. They were married in 1959. A couple of the children (Robin and Therese) were born in Virginia and then the family moved to New Jersey where they settled for many years and raised their family, including Timothy and Debra who were born in NJ. Rudy enjoyed working for Bridgewater Township. He enjoyed working on his engineering drawings and smoking his pipe in his make-shift office in the basement. He also enjoyed gardening and travelling, especially camping with the family.

At retirement Rudy and Dolores moved to Chapin, SC and built a lovely retirement home on Lake Murray. Rudy designed the house and was very proud of the house after it was built. They enjoyed their time together, riding their pontoon boat and gardening and really enjoyed when the grandchildren came to visit.

Dolores passed in 2008, and Rudy toughed it out without her in South Carolina for 9 years. He was very active in his church and leaned on the friendships he made there. When his health began to decline, he came to Pennsylvania to live at Ann’s Choice to be closer to his family. He loved doing puzzles, playing card games, Racko and Connect Four. He also loved playing BINGO at Ann’s Choice. He was sharp as a tack and enjoyed beating everyone until his final days on earth.

Rudy lived a righteous life. He was thoughtful and kind and always showed an interest in everyone he met and was known for putting a smile on their face. He was handy around the house and loved helping his children and friends with house projects. He lived a terrific life and died peacefully at his house on October 11th, 2020. His final years were made even better because of the wonderful care he received. The family is so grateful for the team of caregivers, Eileen from Home-Helpers assembled for Rudy. Elizabeth and Dre were so loyal and sacrificed so much of their lives to care for Rudy day to day. They are truly Saints.

Rudy was the loving husband of the late Dolores (nee: Markham); beloved father of Robin (Scott) Naismyth, Therese (Joseph) Rose, Timothy (Ann) Wittemann, and Debra (Fredrick) Nanni; loving grandfather of Ryan, Ashley, Kaitlyn, Jessica (Stewart) Ryan, Joseph III, Kellie, William (Kathryn), Brandon, Nicholas, Michael, Melissa, Melanie, and Michaela; and loving great-grandfather of Stewart Jr., George, and John.

Relatives and friends are invited to attend his Funeral Mass on Monday, October 19, 2020, starting at 11:00 am., at Mary. Mother of the Redeemer Church, 1325 Upper State Rd., North Wales, PA  19454. Interment St. John Neumann Cemetery. Masks will be required. To respect COVID, a livestream of the funeral mass will also be available.