Emily Rudolph

A Tribute to Her Amazing Life

Emily Rudolph, of whom the world was not worthy, touched countless lives with her effervescent smile and selfless efforts.

Bethany Paulsen, Sarah Anderson & Emily Rudolph

Here is Emily in October, 2007, trying out our newly acquired antiques along with her roommate, Bethany Paulsen and our daughter, Sarah. This photo typifies Emily....always ready with a big flashy smile.

I've known Emily for many years as a local homeschooled girl who entered the community college young, clepping out of some of her classes....like math and biology. I always marveled at this intelligent vivacious young lady, but it wasn't until she was in her twenties, and she and Andrew became fast friends, that she entered our personal lives in a dramatic way.

Andrew & Emily

She would call our place home on her frequent visits back to Muscatine, after she moved to Minneapolis for college and her nursing job at the VA hospital. I was never surprised to see her big vehicle in our driveway or her sleeping on Anna's sofa. She would make herself at home in our kitchen, often volunteering to fry an extra egg for whoever happened to show up. During a meal, if she needed something, she'd hop up and get it...she was one of us, so much more than just a guest.

If I was busy knotting pearl necklaces, she'd come and sit beside me, asking, "Well, how are you doing, Kari?" And when Emily asked this, you knew she was sincere and really wanted to hear the nitty gritty of life's details.

Or she'd make herself at home at the top of the stairs and tell Mark and I all about some recent misadventure she had experienced...through tears and smiles. Somehow we knew that Emily would "make it through" the darkest of days.

But she not only passed through the valley of the shadow of death, she passed through the actual valley itself into immortality last night, December 31, 2007, due to complications from lung surgery. If anyone had scores of people praying for them, Emily did, but God saw it fit to take her to His loving bosom.

This is hard to understand, but I encourage each of you to take Emily's example of unashamedly and enthusiastically getting involved in other's lives and do this with more gusto yourself. In that way, Emily's life message will continue to impact our lost and humbled world.

Even in simple ways she touched us. Once Emily rented a movie, "The Terminal" and suggested we "girls" watch it. I made some iced mint coffee and she, Sarah and I had a blast watching this bizarre movie which we could all identify with because of our many travels through airports.

In November, Emily and some friends went to India on a mission trip and as they were praising God in a village with singing and dancing, a deaf lady received her hearing. That was Emily, always leaving a trail of miracles behind.

When my brother, Mike, had by-pass surgery at the VA hospital, she was there with her glowing smile and she's visited both my mother, Adora, and sister, Diane, as well.

As I write this, I can hardly believe that she is really gone from this mortal world, but again, I encourage you to love more fully, see more clearly, trust more deeply, and reach out more frequently.

I took this video of Emily October 20, 2007 as Sam and Matt were bringing in our newly purchased loom. It also is very typical of her enthusiastic ways.

This is just my side of loving Emily Rudolph. She has impacted so many lives and had an extensive outreach with the Somalians in Minneapolis as well as visiting several foreign countries for outreach work. She was also an accomplished classical pianist.

For anyone else wishing to express their love and appreciation for Emily Rudolph, you may add a new page with a tribute and photo.

Emily Rudolph has touched many lives the world over. If you'd like to add a special tribute to her amazing life, I invite you to do so here. Your memories will become a new page on this site with a link below this invitation.

Click below to see contributions from other visitors to this page...

A Lasting Impression  Emily was one of my nurse preceptors at the VA during my leadership/management clinical rotation as a nursing student last spring. I considered myself ...

Emily had such a great attitude.....:)  I didn't know Emily as well as most of you, but I was in class with her for a couple of years at Muscatine Community College.

What I remember most ...

Saying "Good-bye" to Emily  The last time I saw Emily was in August of 2007. We were at East Iowa Bible Camp, and as always, started talking....even though I am 30-some years older ...

My American Friend  When my family was in the states when I was 10 years old, I was very homesick while we were in Iowa. Then one day my mom told me that a girl from church ...

Growing up with Emily  I am only six months older then Emily. She was a great friend and I miss her greatly. I have many fond memories of her and I playing together. The one ...

Childhood Friends   I grew up in Muscatine, across the street from Emily when I was young. I lived there through fourth grade, when my family moved to Iowa Falls.

I have ...

Nursing Father Tim  Here's another story Emily sent me. These stories are precious and I'm glad I have a way to share them with you all. This one is about Father Tim, a ...

Emily's Kids  This is part of an e-mail Emily sent me over the summer. I was preaching from Isaiah 58 about giving your life to serving others, and I asked Emily to ...

Emily is My Oldest Cousin  I never got to see Emily as much as I would of liked due to the distance between us, but I certainly heard of her stories, her new adventures and her accomplishments....

Emily Studied in Guatemala in the Spring of 2003  Emily and I were two of 21 members of the Guatemala study abroad team from Bethel University in the Spring of 2003. Emily worked with Tito and Diana on ...

Seeds  "O God," he said loudly, looking up at the silhouette of Bobby's hammock. "God, this is black. It's dark; I can't see. We're lost."

He was quiet for ...

Emily-One of the Dearest Friends God Ever Gave Me  Four days before Christmas, while a friend and I were giddily piling candy and frosting all over a gingerbread house, Emily called to tell me that at the ...

Getting to know and love Emily  I got to know Emily through Jeremiah's Porch. I'm the manager of the program and was Emily's volunteer supervisor and landlord.

As many others have ...

Emily, The Dramatic Storyteller  In the winter of 2006 Emily and Andrew and I took a mile-or-so long walk on snowy Underwood Avenue. As we walked, we talked. Especially Emily. She told ...

Under the Same Roof With Emily  Emily and I lived at Jeremiah's Porch for a year and a half together. She lived in the opposite apartment from me, and most of our interactions were in ...