Long time resident of Wheaton, Edward, "Eddie" P. Ruch passed away on December 7, 2011 at the Wynscape Nursing Home. Mr. Ruch was born on November 22, 1907 in the home of his parents at 125 West Oak Street, Wheaton. He was the last of 9 siblings to pass away and reached the age of 104. His parents were William C. Ruch and Elizabeth J. Stattelmann. He spent most of his boyhood on a 23-acre farm which included the spring-fed, figure eight shaped Hines Lake, where Rathje Park sits today. Notably, it was the abundant bullheads in the lake that sustained the family throughout the winter time. One of Eddie's jobs was to deliver the farm's raw milk via a horse and wagon. For people who saw the wagon coming, it appeared as though it was driverless because of Eddie's short stature. He attended St. Michael's Catholic School, receiving an eight-grade education.

One of his first jobs included delivering groceries to customer homes by horse and wagon for Carlson's Grocery on N. Main Street where he met and courted Ruth Witt of Warrenville, in May of 1929. They had four children, Ed, Dorothy Ann, Philip, and Tom. Due to a bicycle accident, Philip passed away in October of 1950 at the age of 10. Ruth Ruch passed away in September of 1994 at the age of 85.

When automobiles were first introduced, Carlson's Model-T truck had mechanical difficulties and Carlson asked Eddie to see if he could get it running again. Eddie dismantled it after hours, fixed the problem, and reassembled it, Mr. Carlson was so impressed that later he promoted Eddie to maintain his fleet of Model-T's. In retrospect this proved to be defining moment that set Eddie on a life time career of being a gifted and well respected mechanic. During the first years of the Great Depression, he worked as a mechanic for Packard Motors in Wheaton and walked 13 blocks to and from work daily. Later he leased a service station from the now defunct D-X Petroleum Company, where Caribou Coffee sits today on the southeast corner of Front and West Streets. After several years of serving the public there, he bought property one block west on the northeast corner of Front and Gary Avenue, erected a larger service station, and obtained a franchise to sell Pontiac automobiles. He had a workforce of approximately 40 people. He was well known in the area as an honest car dealer, providing excellent service to a large clientele of customers.

On Dec. 20, visitation will be at the Hultgren Funeral Home, 304 N. Main St., Wheaton from 3:00 PM to 7:00 PM. On Dec. 21, visitation will be at the Wheaton Bible Church, 27W500 North Avenue, West Chicago in the East Sanctuary from 9:00 to 10:00 AM, followed by a Memorial Service at 10:00 AM after which a luncheon will be served for the family and their guests. Interment will be at the Wheaton Cemetery on Warrenville Road. Mr. Ruch is survived by his three children, nine grandchildren, and sixteen great-grandchildren.