Madonna Beggin

Madonna Katherine Dittmar Beggin died suddenly at home Thursday, October 18, 2012. Madonna was known by many names, Donna, Ditty, Maudie and Maudie Toots to name a few. She was a devoted daughter, sister, friend, nurse, wife, mother, aunt, grandmother and great grandmother and a truly memorable character to all. Madonna was born on June 4th, 1931 to J. Arthur and Ruth [Kehl] Dittmar and grew up on a farm outside of Apple River, Il. She attended high school at Immaculate Conception Academy in Dubuque, Ia. and graduated from College of St. Theresa in Winona, Mn. with a degree in nursing. Madonna married Robert J. Beggin on September 15th, 1956 in Apple River, Il and moved to Freeport where she worked as a nurse at area hospitals, devoting herself to compassionate patient care. Although she retired in 1974 to be home with her family, stories of her time as a nurse are still shared by many today. Besides her membership and faithful attendance at St. Thomas Church, Madonna was involved in the Visiting Nurses program, Home Extension, the Master Gardening program and was an advocate for the disabled. Maudie also loved to cook, knit, garden and play the piano. In 1997, she suffered a massive stroke, which should have ended her life, but she fought through it and we were blessed to have her with us for another 15 years. Whether a holiday or weekend at the lake, laughing at her stories and one liners were a highlight of family time. Those 'Maudie-isms' will live on as part of our family history. Madonna was preceeded in death by her parents, brothers in law John Patrick Beggin, James Beggin and Donald Taufmann and a daughter Mary, who died at a birth. Survivors to cherish her memory are her husband, Robert, six children - Erin [Steve] of Cedar Rapids, Ia, Joe of Warrensburg, Il, Brendan [Stacy) of Crystal Lake, Il, Shawn, Moira [Todd} and Rory of Freeport, IL. Grandchildren are Luke [Kim} Beggin of Freeport, Matt (Maureen) Stukenberg of Arlington Heights, Il., Zachary Beggin of Valdosta, Ga., Andrew (fianc