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"On his grave marker is one of the best days of
my life June 20th, 1985, his birth,
and by far the worst. May 29th 2006, his death"
My name is Marie Ruebel. My son, Travis Ruebel, lost his life on May 29,
2006. On his grave marker is one of the best day of my life June 20th, 1985,
his birth and by far the worst, May 29th, 2006, his death.
(MHP - Travis D. Ruebel, 20, of O’Fallon, MO,
died when his vehicle slid sideways into a raised shoulder and overturned
twice. Ruebel was not wearing a seat belt and was ejected from the vehicle.
The crash occurred on the South Outer Road of Interstate 70 east of Cave
Springs overpass. Dr. David Nickle pronounced Ruebel dead at St. Joseph Hospital
in St. Charles. The St. Charles Police Department investigated the
crash.)
 Travis was a very
hard worker and worked a lot and he played hard and played when he could.
He was a very social person, never met a stranger; the room would just illuminate
when he was in it.
His goal in life was to make everyone laugh and enjoy the moment they were
in, no matter what their issue was. Two strangers I had never met, made sure
they came to the funeral home, to tell a special story of how they knew him
and how proud I should be of him. The first was a UPS Man in his 50's, that
came into the funeral home after a very long day of running behind in his
deliveries, to give his condolence to me and said "I had to say good bye
to my buddy who always made me smile when I delivered to where he worked.
And to meet the parents of such an awesome person." That touched my heart.
Then a mother and daughter came in (the little girl was about 8 or 9) to
also give their condolence, and to tell me about the day they first met Travis.
He was teaching dance on the side(he loved it). The Mother said when her
daughter went to her first dance lesson, she was very shy and scared for
about 10 seconds, before Travis came up and sat down on the floor Indian
style so he would be at her level and ask her,.. "Do you know why you are
here?" and the little girl said "Yes to learn how to dance" and Travis looked
at her and said, "Yes, but I am going to teach you more than that and how
to fly when you dance." The mom said he was so wonderful with everyone and
really brought her daughter out of her shell of shyness. That touched my
heart tremendously.
He truly loved everyone and made sure they knew it. He did so much in such
a short time I can't imagine what he would of accomplished if he would of
had another 20 years.
(obituary - Travis Daniel, O'Fallon, MO, May 29, 2006 age 20; cherished
son of Danny L. Ruebel and Marie A. Ruebel; dear brother of Robert M. Nash
(Jacquline Harrison) and Nicole M. Ruebel; uncle of Liv R. Nash; beloved
grandson of Florence J. Hayes, Cleo Hayes and Daniel A. Wuertz; dear nephew
of Doris (Frank) Perkins, Brad (Theresa) Ruebel, Chuck (Barb) Hayes, Christopher
Wuertz, John (Ronda) Hayes and Sandy (Dean) Flack; dear cousin and friend
to many. Travis loved dancing, music and teaching dance to kids at Steppin'
Up Dance Studio and Dance Connection. He also taught gymnastics for Gymnastics
On Wheels and was recently promoted to Assistant Manager at Taco Bell in
O'Fallon. He truly loved life, his family, friends and making everyone laugh.
He was an inspiration to everyone he came into contact with. Travis will
be dearly missed by all.)
 Travis had a friend that
shared the same birthday 6-20-85. Andrew Schilling looked at me after Travis
had died, and promised he would always wear his seat belt. Andrew had a hard
time with Travis' death. He didn't sleep well after that. Travis was always
busy helping someone, teaching someone, or working to better himself. He
never seemed to sleep enough. When someone looses someone close to them,
they need time and space to deal with it, and get the right amount of sleep
to tackle what will be ahead
Andrew lost his life the same way later in the year. Now their friends are
mourning a double loss.
(Examiner - A westbound 1994 Dodge Caravan driven by Andrew M.
Schilling, 21, of St. Peters swerved off the road to the right and went down
an embankment, hitting a light standard as it did. It continued down the
embankment and overturned several times, crossing a concrete median and coming
to rest on its top in the southbound lane of the Earth City Expressway Schilling,
who was buckled in, was partly ejected. He was pronounced dead at the
scene)
I believe if either one of these boys would have had better sleeping habits,
this might of not happened That is just a thought , they always seemed to
be on the go, and no time to rest.
(obituary - Beloved son of John and Vicki (nee: Skinner) Schilling;
dear brother of John Nicholas Schilling III; cherished grandson of John Schilling
and the late Eileen Schilling, the late Howard and Lucille Skinner. Andrew
was loved and will be dearly missed by many aunts, uncles, cousins and many,
many friends. Andrew graduated from Fort Zumwalt South High School in 2003
where he played varsity volleyball for three years. He previously played
and refereed for the St. Charles County Youth Soccer Association. Andrew
attended St. Charles Community College for two years as a business student.
He was the General Manager at The Tan Company, O'Fallon,
Missouri.)
I wish you the very best in trying to stop the heartache of parents in the
future that could loose there children to bad driving habits....... Marie
Ruebel
Travis' myspace
page /
Andrew's
myspace page(set to private)
Author's Note - The message Marie is giving, seems simple enough,
but falling asleep at the wheel kills numerous teens in Missouri every year.
In my own experience, as a teen driver, something woke me up before I hit
the ditch; the ditch on the other side of the road and with all those trees.
Some would call it luck, others would call it the grace of God. Whatever
it was, I don't remember the second I nodded off, but I will never forget
that moment I woke up. If you are having trouble keeping your eyes open,
please don't drive. Very few are lucky enough to get the second chance I
was.
Memorial page built with material supplied by Marie Ruebel, and
found on the internet |
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