RACINE – Muriel (Midge) A. Sparks, age 80, died on Sunday, November 10, 2024, at Ridgewood Care Center. She was born on February 21, 1944, in Platteville, WI. She said she knew in kindergarten that she would become a teacher. She confessed she did not know she would talk too much.

She graduated from UW-Platteville and later earned her Master's in Education + 24 credits. She was driven to learn and share, beginning her teaching career in Fresno, CA, in 1966 and Pacifica, CA, in 1967. Upon returning to Wisconsin, she taught in Potosi, WI, in 1969. She became a mother in 1970 and 1971, welcoming Susan and Sean into the world. She continued teaching part-time for 8 years at Gateway Technical College. When her good friend Patti Hammes took maternity leave in 1979, Midge began teaching English in room 228 at Washington Park High School in Racine, WI. Here, she stayed for the next 22 years until her retirement, developing dear friends, young and old.

She loved dancing, family, and traveling; many spring breaks spent with the Park High School family, camping in Florida and long 20+ hour drives of family time! She enjoyed writing notes of encouragement to family and friends, always wanting to help others. Her hobbies included walking, enjoying her dogs Tommy, Trinity and Teddy, and nature. She loved gardening, weeding, planting bulbs, coneflowers, and Black-eyed Susans. To quote one of her literary favorites, Ralph Waldo Emerson, "the earth laughs in flowers."

Survivors include her children, Susan Kennedy (Richard Torine) of Racine, and their son Benjamin, who is currently serving in the USN in Japan. Sean (Zobia) Kennedy of Anchorage, AK, and their children Rodney and Rana Muriel.

Her sister Nancy Killeen of Middleton; her children KimberlyAnne (Henry) Meller and their children Maxwell Meller and (Patricia Tran), Cole (Stephanie) Meller; and Kari (Robert) Sides and their children Sam (Venicia) Sides and Jack (Hannah) Sides.

Her brothers John Cole of Cross Plains, WI, his daughters Sharon Miller and Terri Cole Ruff, and Paul (Marie) Cole of Jacksonville, OR, and their children Maretta Stiles and Minda Stiles.

Sister-in-law Nancy Cole of Waukesha; her children Douglas Cole and Christopher Cole.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Walter J. Cole and Muriel Leitzke, and brothers, Thomas Cole and Robert Cole.

Family and friends are invited to meet in the Draeger-Langendorf Funeral Home and Crematory on Saturday, NOVEMBER 23rd , for a visitation from 11:00 am until 12:00 pm.  A service remembering and celebrating Midge's life will follow at 12:00 pm.   In honor of Midge's love for her flower gardens, floral arrangements would be appropriate and appreciated.

A special thank you to Midge's caregivers at Ridgewood Care Center, her roommate Willie Vaughn, and Allay Hospice for their loving care and support.

"Hope is the thing with feathers That perches in the soul And sings the tune without the words And never stops at all." ― Emily Dickinson

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