RUSER, Shirley A. (1938-2020)

RUSER

Posted By: Karon Velau (email)
Date: 1/29/2021 at 13:48:10

Shirley A. Ruser
(January 4, 1938 – September 23, 2020)

IDA GROVE – Private family services (by invitation only) for Shirley A. Ruser, 82, of Ida Grove was held at 10:30 a.m., Saturday, Oct. 10, 2020, at St. Paul Lutheran Church in Ida Grove. A Facebook Live stream of the memorial service was available to view on the Ida Grove St. Paul Lutheran Church LCMS Facebook page. The Rev. Richard A. Salcido officiated. Burial was at 11:30 a.m., Sat., Oct. 10, in the Ida Grove Cemetery in Ida Grove. Christensen-Van Houten Funeral Home in Ida Grove was in charge of arrangements.
Shirley Arlene Ruser, daughter of Andrew and Martha (Schwenk-Jensen) Petersen, was born Jan. 4, 1938, in the Battle Creek hospital. A lifelong member of St. Paul Lutheran Church in Ida Grove, Shirley was baptized in 1938 and confirmed in 1952. She graduated from Ida Grove High School in 1956. On May 18, 1958, Shirley married Robert Ruser, and they enjoyed 57 years prior to Robert’s death in 2015. To this union, four daughters were born: Becky, Beth, Amy and Julie. Before she married, Shirley worked for the Northern Natural Gas Company in Omaha, Neb. After marriage, she worked for Hartley-Bickley in Ida Grove. She also had many part-time jobs, including Sportsman’s, Ida Bowl, Ida County courthouse and Farmland. She worked for several years alongside her husband in their business, Ruser Dirt Moving. In 1979, she began working for GOMACO in the purchasing department, until she retired in 2000 after 21 years. Shirley died Sept. 23, 2020, at MercyOne-Siouxland Medical Center in Sioux City.
Shirley was preceded in death by her parents; her husband, Robert; a brother, Wayne Petersen; two half-brothers: Herman and Roland Jensen; a half-sister, Evelyn Leonard; a brother-in-law and sister-in-law, Wayne and Dorothy Ruser; and a sister-in-law, Joyce Chadwick. Left to cherish her memories are her daughters: Becky (Scott) Michaelsen of Ida Grove and their children: Andrew (Ann) Michaelsen (Aidan, Gage and Rafe), Ryan, and Aaron; Beth (Kevin) Farley of Ida Grove and their children: Amanda (Neil) Carroll (Evan, Jace and Cody), Dustin (Brittney) Farley (Kasch and Hugh); Amy (Mike) Sievers of Spencer and their children: Aric (Amy) Sievers (Tristan) and Trey; and Julie (Stephen) Campbell of Colorado Springs, Colo., and their children: Quincy (Grace) Campbell (Tucker) and Madison. Shirley is also survived by a brother-in-law, Choyce Chadwick of Alabama, two sisters-in-law: Virginia Jensen of Battle Creek and Vivian Jensen of Ida Grove; many extended family members; and friends.
Sources: Ida County Courier, Ida Grove, Iowa, Fri., Oct 2, 2020 and Christensen-VanHouten Funeral Services, Ida Grove, Iowa at http://www.christensenvanhouten.com/