A Sioux City family is honoring their husband and father’s memory with a donation to Nebraska Medical Center cancer patients.
When Mike Ruehle passed away February 6, his family collected teddy bears and other stuffed animals in lieu of flowers. They’re planning to donate those items to the cancer center, where Mike Ruehle was a patient for 12 years.
Kerry Ruehle, Mike’s widow, says they wanted to pay tribute to him by giving back to a place that cared for him for more than a decade.
"In a way, I think it's probably a little bit of healing for the family. To be able to help others just makes us feel wonderful."
The family has collected more than 530 stuffed animals so far. They hope to deliver the bears in early March to children, as well as adult patients, in the transplant unit.