BUERGER, Ruth Birdeva 1919 - 2016

BUERGER, WEHKING, WOLFRAM

Posted By: Pat Ludeke (email)
Date: 10/19/2017 at 08:29:52

Ruth Birdeva Buerger, 97, of Clear Lake, died Monday, Aug. 1, 2016, at Good Shepherd Health Center, in Mason City, Iowa.

A funeral service was held on Friday, Aug. 5, 2016, at Redeemer Lutheran Church, 301 S. Main St., Ventura, with Pastor Jesse Burns officiating. Burial was in Memorial Park Cemetery in Mason City.

Family suggests memorial contributions to the Early Childhood Learning Center at St. Peter Lutheran Church, in LaGrange, Mo.

Ruth was born July 22, 1919, the daughter of the Rev. Walter and Clara Wehking Wolfram in Royal, Iowa.

She married Hilmar Buerger on June 4, 1944, at St. John Lutheran Church, in Garner, Iowa.

Ruth attended elementary school at St. John Lutheran Church, in Garner, and high school in Ventura. She graduated from the teacher education program at Iowa State Teachers College in Cedar Falls, in 1939. Upon graduation she taught in public schools in Emmetsburg and Coulter, Iowa. In 1968, she completed her bachelor’s degree at Quincy College in Quincy, Ill. Ruth also taught at the following Lutheran schools: Trinity Lutheran School, in Faribault, Minn.; Immanuel Lutheran School, in Baltimore, Md.; St. Mark Lutheran School, in North Tonawanda, N.Y.; and St. James Lutheran School, in Quincy, Ill. In 1978 Ruth became the first teacher and director of the Early Childhood Learning Center at St. Peter Lutheran Church in LaGrange, Mo.

During the time she lived in Quincy, Ruth was active in the local Sweet Adeline chorus. After retirement in 1984, Ruth moved to Ventura. She served as a reading tutor in the Clear Lake Elementary Schools and was active in other local volunteer activities.

Ruth is survived by her daughter, Dr. Jane Buerger, of Broadview, Ill., and two sisters-in-law, Mrs. Darlene Wolfram, of Spirit Lake, Iowa, and Mrs. Betty Wolfram, of Giddings, Texas.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Hilmar Buerger; her parents, and two brothers, the Rev. Marcus Wolfram of Warda, Texas, and the Rev. James Wolfram of Spirit Lake.

Ward-Van Slyke Colonial Chapel, Clear Lake, was in charge of arrangements.