Ruth Ann Welsh

WELSH, SCHNOEBELEN, THOMANN, GALLUZZO, KRON, NICHOLSON

Posted By: Tara (email)
Date: 7/2/2009 at 12:06:27

Ruth Ann Welsh, 58, of rural Riverside, died peacefully Monday, December 18, 2006 at home surrounded by her family.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be directed to the University of Iowa Foundation for Breast Cancer Research.

Ruth was an Iowa girl. Her first breath was on March 5, 1948 in Riverside, Iowa. Her parents, Bernard and Mildred Schnoebelen Thomann tilled the soil. Ruth graduated from Highland Community Schools and The University of Iowa. On June 20, 1970 she married Michael Welsh at St. Thomas More Church in Iowa City.

After living in San Francisco and Houston they settled south of Iowa City to raise their family. Their three children, Christopher, Teresa, and David grew up loving their Iowa home.

From her family’s roots in farming she developed a love of the earth. She loved to plant and watch things grow – vegetables, trees, and prairie flowers. Her passion for Iowa’s native tallgrass prairie led her to restore a piece of Iowa’s history. She leaves these acres to her family and future generations to enjoy their subtle beauty as she did.

But above all, Ruth loved her family. She was the most wonderful, loving daughter, wife, mother, and grandmother. Like her home state, she was quiet, but strong; she had substance, not fluff. She had the fire to act on injustice. She had a moral compass that never wavered and that guided her family.

Ruth is survived by her loving husband, Michael and their three children, Christopher (Alaina) Welsh and their son Nathan, Teresa (Adam) Galluzzo, and David Welsh, all of Iowa City; her parents, Bernard and Mildred of Riverside; eight siblings, Larry (Tina) Thomann, Linda (Gary) Kron, Alan (Linda) Thomann, Dean (Sue) Thomann, Greg (Janice) Thomann and Kirk (Terri) Thomann, all of Riverside, Ross (Jane) Thomann of Columbus Junction, and Janet (Perry) Nicholson of Haskins, Iowa; her mother-in-law, Elizabeth Welsh of Marshalltown; numerous nieces and nephews.

Ruth Ann was preceded in death by her father-in-law, Leo Welsh.