EWALD, Ruth Edith (nee Thomas) 1904-1998

EWALD, THOMAS, MCCRACKEN

Posted By: County Coordinator
Date: 12/21/2008 at 19:55:24

MARBLE ROCK, IOWA — Funeral services for Mrs. Ruth E. Ewald, 93, of 82 North Cedar Terrace, Charles City, formerly of Marble Rock, will be held at 10:30 a.m. today at the United Methodist Church with the Rev. Rosemary Rohde-Frank officiating. Burial will be in Westside Cemetery.

Visitation was held from 3 to 8 p.m. Sunday at Reid’s Funeral Chapel. Visitation will be held one hour prior to services at the church today.

Ruth Edith Thomas was born Oct. 26, 1904, in rural Coldwater Township, Butler County, a daughter of Arthur and Bertha (McCracken) Thomas, and died Friday (Jan. 16, 1997) at the Eleventh Street Chautauqua Guest Home in Charles City.

She received her education in the Greene Public Schools, graduating in 1923. She taught in rural schools until her marriage to Edgar Bert Ewald on June 18, 1925, at the Little Brown Church in Nashua.

They started farming north of Marble Rock and continued until his death in August, 1951. She continued to live on the farm and worked as a cook at the Winnebago Scout Camp, rural Marble Rock, and at the Floyd County Farm. In 1957, she moved to Mountain Home, Ark., where she lived for several years before moving to Charles City. During this time she was a cook at the Catholic rectory in Charles City.

Following her retirement she enjoyed traveling throughout the United States on bus tours, and traveling overseas to Europe, Hawaii, and the Caribbean. She was a member of the Marble Rock United Methodist Church and a former member of the Rebekkah Lodge in Marble Rock.

Living family members include two daughters, Doris Evans of Sloan and Elaine Zilm of Yuma, Ariz.; two sons, Eugene Ewald of Marble Rock and Maynard Ewald of Rockford; 12 grandchildren; 20 great-grandchildren; and one sister, Mildred Rodman of Clarksville.

She was preceded in death by her parents; husband; one sister, Marguerite Ewald; two brothers, Ira Thomas and Lloyd Thomas; and two grandchildren.

Those planning an expression of sympathy may direct memorials to the Ruth E. Ewald Memorial Fund in care of the family.

[Mason City Globe Gazette online -- Jan. 18, 1998]