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Radke, Ruth A. (1919-2014)

RADKE, JOHNSON, MATTSON, SUMP, SCHUELKE, BRECKENRIDGE, HAMILTON, TRUE, VANDER WERFF

Posted By: Paul Nagy (email)
Date: 8/16/2014 at 20:04:46

Ruth A. Radke
Jul 14, 1919 - Jul 14, 2014

Alta, Iowa

Ruth Agnes Kristina Radke, a daughter of Gustav and Louise Johnson, was born on July 14, 1919, on a farm south of Alta, Iowa. She was called to her heavenly home on July 14, 2014, at the age of 95.

Baptized in the name of the Triune God, on August 17, 1919, by Pastor N.J. Lundahl, and confirmed on February 18, 1934, at Trinity Lutheran Church in Alta by Pastor R.S. Nestander, Ruth attended school in Alta, graduating in 1937. After she graduated from Buena Vista University in 1939, she taught at country school Maple Valley No. 8 for a couple of years. Then, after she married, she taught at St. John’s Parochial School in Hanover.

On September 6, 1942, Ruth married Arthur Radke at Trinity Lutheran Church in Alta, Iowa, Pastor Philip Holmberg officiating. She and Art were, subsequently, blessed with two children, Dean and Dianne. They spent their married years farming.

Involved with Sunday School, Vacation Bible School, Week Day School, and in charge of the children’s Christmas programs, Ruth enjoyed working with the children at church. Moreover, she participated in several other church activities at St. John’s Lutheran Church as well. As a member of L.W.M.L., she held various offices besides working at church with the World Relief sewing group. She held a number of offices in the Zone Women’s Lutheran Missionary League and assumed the role of “Mrs. Rogers” in the Christian Growth skits. In addition, she was a co-founder of the annual German Feast Supper and a longtime member of the choir.

Ruth served on several community committees for a number of years including as chairman of the Ladies’ Day at the Buena Vista County Fair and as leader of the Maple Valley 4-H Club. She also held offices on the extension committees and belonged to the “Neighborhood Birthday Club” and the “Just for Fun” Club.

She enjoyed doing crafts, painting, solving puzzles, and avidly collecting lighted houses, plates, and Boyd Bears. She enjoyed the farm and her flowers. In her younger years, she also liked traveling. She, especially, enjoyed her trip to Sweden visiting relatives. She treasured her relationships with her family including her grandchildren and great-grandchildren as well as with her special friends, Kurt, Leah, and Hanna Jo Edwards, Diane Edwards, Sally Kuhrts, Verona Koth, and many other relatives and friends.

She was preceded in death by her parents; her husband, Arthur; her sister and brother-in-law, Ethel and Albert Mattson; her brothers-in-law, Marvin and Harry Radke; her sisters- and brothers-in-law, Verna and Walter Sump, Lavonne and Edgar Radke, and Lorene and Louis Schuelke; and nephew, Michael Schuelke.

Those left to cherish her memory include her children, Dean, and his wife, Diane, of Alta, Iowa, and Dianne, and her husband, Roger Breckenridge, of Newton, Iowa; her grandchildren, Melanie Hamilton, and her husband, Leslie True, of Newton, Iowa, Matthew Vander Werff and his fiancée, Ashley Abess, of Miami, Florida, Darin, and his wife, Beth Radke, of Waconia, Minnesota, and Derek, and his wife, Amy Radke, of Sioux Falls, South Dakota; her great-granddaughters, Annika Ruth and Mia Elizabeth Radke; one soon-to-be great-grandson; her sister, Dorothy Radke; and her sister-in-law, Marcella Radke, of Storm Lake, Iowa; as well as many nieces, nephews, other relatives, and friends.

A devoted mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, and friend, Ruth will always be remembered for her kindness and helping hand when needed.

Visitation: Nicklas D. Jensen Funeral Home, Alta, Iowa, Friday, July 18th, 2014, 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Funeral: St. John’s Lutheran Church, rural Alta (Hanover), Saturday, July 19th, 2014, 10:30 a.m.
Burial: St. John’s Lutheran Cemetery, rural Alta (Hanover), Saturday, July 19th, 2014.

Copyright © 2014, Nicklas D. Jensen Funeral Homes

Nicklas D. Jensen Funeral Homes
 

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