Michael T. Ruemelin, 63, of Genoa died suddenly on Monday, November 9, 2020 at his home.

He was born August 31, 1957 in Elgin to Thomas and Joan (Parsons) Ruemelin.

Michael was an avid fisherman.  He loved being near the water and his happiest times were holding a fishing pole.  He also loved gardening and flowers.  He spent many hours devoted to making the yard look perfect.

He loved all forms of racing, from watching Indy races on television to racing his RC cars.  He had fond memories of the many cars and motorcycles he had throughout his life.  He never lost the desire to go fast and loved sharing stories about racing the back roads of Elgin in his youth.

He was so proud of his boys and the successful men they have become.  He found such joy bragging about how wonderful they all turned out.  They were truly bright spots in his life.

For almost 20 years he shared his life, his love and his humor with his best friend Karen.   He even taught her to fish, although he sometimes had to take the fish off the hook for her.

Perhaps his favorite thing to do was make people laugh.  Michael loved bringing a smile to people's faces.  His sense of humor and laughter were infectious and everyone who loved him has their own favorite story with him to tell.

Michael was a journeyman electrician with lBEW Local 117 out of Crystal Lake. He retired in 2015 and fully embraced retirement life.

Survivors include sons, Christopher Ruemelin (spouse Alicia and daughter Wren) of Morton, Illinois, Zachary Ruemelin (spouse Melissa, son Logan and 2nd baby expected in February) of Lake in the Hills, Illinois, Jacob Ruemelin of Columbus Ohio; sister, Cindy (Bill) Matson of Monroe Center, Illinois; nephews, Cody Matson of Fayetteville, Georgia and Josh Matson of Rockford, Illinois; and his loving companion, Karen Brint of Genoa.

Michael was preceded in death by his parents Thomas and Joan (Parsons) Ruemelin of Elgin

His walk through visitation will be on Friday, Nov. 13th from 5:00-8:00 PM at the Slater-Butala Funeral Home, 132 W. Main St., Genoa, IL. 60135. In accordance with the IDPH in regards to COVID- facial coverings must be worn and social distancing enforced.

Burial will be private on Saturday at St. Catherine Cemetery in Genoa, IL.

In lieu of flowers memorials can be made to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital (stjude.org) or Tails Humane Society ( https://www.tailshumanesociety.org/ ), because of how much he loved his and Karen's kitty boys or send cards to Slater-Butala Funeral Home of Genoa.

To sign the online guest book or write a special memory, go to www.ButalaFuneralHomes.com