Gause, Ruth – 1925-2010

CARLSON, CEDERBERG, CREWS, GAUSE, KERR, LORENSON, OLSON, SHELL, WILLIAMS

Posted By: JCGS Volunteer
Date: 8/1/2010 at 18:35:08

Ruth Joyce Lorenson Gause, age 85, passed peacefully on Monday, June 28, 2010, in the Monarch Wing of Skiff Medical Center in Newton, to join Bruce, her beloved husband of 50 years.
A memorial service for family and friends will be held at the First Presbyterian Church, 1025 Fifth Ave., Grinnell, Iowa, on Saturday, July 31 at 2 p.m. In lieu of flowers, memorials in memory of Ruth to Alzheimer’s Disease Research Association, Hospice of Jasper County, or the charity of your choice will be appreciated.
Special thanks to the caring staff of Garden View at Wesley Park Center and at Hospice of Jasper County. Memories and condolences may be shared with the Gause family on the Smith Funeral Home website at www.smithfh.com.
Source: Newton Daily News; Thursday, July 1, 2010

Additional information from Smith Funeral Home website:
Ruth was born on the family farm near Herndon, Kansas, on June 1, 1925, with triplet brother Ruben and sister Ruby. After graduation from Decatur County High School in Oberlin, she moved to California with family and found work in the Caterpillar factory. It was there she met Bruce who was serving in the U.S. Coast Guard. They married in 1945 and moved to Iowa near Bruce’s family. They raised their four children in Lynnville and, later, in Newton, Iowa.
Besides gardening, canning, and cooking special birthday dinners, Ruth worked as secretary for the Lynnville Telephone Company for many years. Bruce’s fellow workers at Maytag’s Plant 2 looked forward to Christmas and Ruth’s peanut brittle, fudge, divinity, and cookies. The coffee was always on in her kitchen and often served with apple dumplings, Swedish tea ring, cinnamon rolls, or peach cobbler. Ruth once baked 40 pies for the Friends Church bake sale when RAGBRAI rolled through Lynnville in 1974. She had a genius for packing the car for summer vacations and was the master navigator as the family traveled from Minnesota to Texas and Virginia to California, enjoying the country and visiting with both Lorenson and Gause relatives.
A woman of quiet strength and kindness, Ruth helped friends, neighbors and family whenever needed. She volunteered as Girl Scout leader for years. Her creativity and energy supported countless family, school, church, and community activities. When the family moved to Newton in 1966, Ruth worked for the Newton Telephone Company, the Selective Service, and the Vernon Company. She sold Electrolux vacuum cleaners, made wedding cakes and mints, sewed curtains, and eventually started her own upholstery business. After Ruth and Bruce retired, they continued their travels around the country to visit family and friends and spent two years living in Superior, Nebraska, caring for Ruth’s aunt Anna. Ruth moved to Grinnell in 1997 to be closer to her daughters and grandchildren and continued her community service and church activities.
Ruth was preceded in death by Bruce, parents Arthur and Ella Lovisa (Cederberg) Lorenson and brothers Clarence, Melvin, Louis, and Ruben as well as one sister, Inez (Lorenson) Carlson. She was loved by son Phil (Linda) and daughters Bev, Conni, and Nancy (Peg Craig). She proudly watched grandchildren Eric (Kari), Garth (Christy), Madison, Cale (Jamie), Lee (Kate), Lindsay (Cee J), and Jacob (Torri) grow into wonderful people. She delighted in great-grandchildren Justin, Kaitlyn, Kaci, Allison, and Zachary. She leaves much-loved sisters Evelyn Olson, Ruby Williams, Rosella Kerr, and Marilyn Shell, sister-in-laws Louise Crews and Virginia Gause, and many dear relatives and friends.