Siehl, Ruth A. 1915-2010

SIEHL, WESTRIP, VOGT, WOLVERTON, KUJAC, ZAJIC, NEWTON, BARNES, ARNTZEN

Posted By: Marilyn Holmes (email)
Date: 10/16/2010 at 10:36:34

The Grinnell (IA) Herald-Register

RUTH A. SIEHL

Ruth A. Siehl, 94, of Lincoln, Neb., formerly of Grinnell, died Monday, Jan. 25, 2010, at Clark Jeary Retirement Community in Lincoln.

A memorial service will be held Saturday, Feb. 13, at 11 a.m. at Smith Funeral Home with the Rev. Walt Claussen, pastor of the Newburg-Chester Congregational Church, officiating. Interment will be held privately at the Chester Cemetery north of Grinnell.

A visitation will be held on Friday at Smith Funeral Home from 1 until 7 p.m., with family members present to greet friends from 5 until 7 p.m. Memorial contributions may be made to Newburg-Chester Congregational Church or to Drake Community Library. Memorials and condolences may be shared with the family at www.smithfh.com

She was born, the oldest of four daughters, to Grover C. and Mabel Westrip Vogt on Oct. 5, 1915, in Washington Township, Poweshiek County. She attended grade school in Washington Township and was a 1932 graduate of Grinnell High School. Following her education, she taught at rural schools in Poweshiek and Polk Counties.

She was united in marriage with Farrell G. Siehl on Jan. 22, 1938, in Grinnell. She was a homemaker, a farm wife, and a record keeper for the farm business as well as keeping up with registrations for their herd of Purebred Hereford cattle. After her children were in college, she worked at General Telephone of the Midwest as the computer tape librarian and later was employed by the United States Department of Agriculture to measure grain bins in Poweshiek County. In 1970, she was honored by the Iowa Hereford Auxiliary as "Iowa Woman of the Year." In 1990, the couple took the first of two trips to Europe as guests of the draft-horse breeders' association. While in Europe, they toured nine countries. They lived on the farm all of their married lives before moving to Seeland Park in the spring of 1997. Ruth moved to Clark Jeary Retirement Community in Lincoln, Neb., in 2008.

She was a member of the Chester United Church of Christ-Congregational, and later became a member of the Newburg-Chester Congregational Church. She was active in her church, teaching Sunday school, volunteering in the Womens' Fellowship, and was her church's representative to Church Women United in Grinnell. She also volunteered for the American Cancer Society and Poweshiek County 4-H, in which she was a 4-H leader and served on the 4-H committee.

She is survived by her daughters and son, Dorothy Wolverton of Lincoln, Neb.; John Siehl of Malibu, Calif.; Miriam Kujac of Madrid, and Kathryn Zajic of Long Beach, Calif.; six grandchildren, and 11 great grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her parents; her husband, Farrell Siehl in 2002, and three sisters, Irene Newton, Maurine Barnes, and Dorothy Arntzen.