Campbell, Mary Ruth (1919-2016)

CAMPBELL, BENNETT, BLEAKLEY, HEIKES, KENDE, CHRISTIANSEN

Posted By: Paul Nagy (email)
Date: 5/4/2016 at 15:12:05

Ruth Campbell
October 27, 1919 - April 18, 2016

Ruth Campbell, age 96, of Storm Lake, Iowa, died on Monday, April 18, 2016, at the Methodist Manor Retirement Community in Storm Lake.

Mary Ruth Bennett was born on October 27, 1919, on the family farm in Ida County, Iowa. After the untimely death of her mother in 1924, the family moved to Schaller, Iowa. Her aunt, Sarah Bleakley, came to live with the family to help their father raise the three young children.

After graduating from high school, Ruth attended Wayne State College in Nebraska where she earned a teaching degree. Next, she taught school in Exira, Iowa, for two years.

On May 22, 1943, Mary Ruth married Emlin Verne Campbell. They, then, moved to Chicago, Illinois, and started a family. In 1951, they moved with their two young daughters to Storm Lake and added two sons to the family. In 1962, they moved into a new home on West 9th Street where Verne and Ruth lived until they moved first to Otsego Place and then to the Methodist Manor.

Ruth was devoted to her husband Verne, her four children, and all of her relatives, friends, and neighbors. A lifelong member of the United Methodist Church, she, actively, participated in the Women’s Society as well as in other groups and functions of the church. In addition, she belonged to the Order of the Eastern Star for seventy-eight years. She, rarely, missed any activity in which her kids participated, and she followed her grandchildren’s activities as well. Almost daily, she had her morning coffee with the 9th Street neighbor ladies, and eventually, they allowed the men to join as they retired. In addition, they spent many evenings on their patio in lawn chairs visiting with neighbors and friends or playing cards.

Active members of the Izaak Walton League, Verne and Ruth loved the outdoors. They, always, kept binoculars and a chair in front of the back window so they could watch the birds. Moreover, they traveled the country on bird watching trips. Later, they took bus trips, eventually traveling to all fifty states. Moreover, they never missed a Saturday night watching the Lawrence Welk Show.

Ruth is survived by four children: Mary (David) Heikes, of Smithville, Missouri, Jean Annette Kende, of Storm Lake, Iowa, Paul (Elaine) Campbell, of Scottsdale, Arizona, and John Bennett Campbell, of Storm Lake, Iowa; as well as by six grandchildren and eleven great-grandchildren.

She is preceded in death by her beloved husband, Emlin Verne Campbell; her parents, Dresden and Ruth Naomi Bennett; her sister, Elsie Christiansen; and brother, David Bennett.

Funeral services will be held Friday, April 22, 2016, at 10:30 a.m. at the United Methodist Church in Storm Lake. Burial will follow in the Storm Lake Cemetery. Visitation will take place Thursday, April 21, 2016, from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. at the Fratzke & Jensen Funeral Home in Storm Lake. Memorials may be directed to the Storm Lake United Methodist Women. The Fratzke & Jensen Funeral Home in Storm Lake is in charge of the arrangements.

Copyright © 2016, Fratzke & Jensen Funeral Homes

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