Ruisch, Howard R. 1921-2011

RUISCH, BEUKELMAN, KUIKEN

Posted By: Wilma J. Vande Berg - volunteer (email)
Date: 10/5/2011 at 07:29:55

Howard R. Ruisch
August 15, 1921 - September 25, 2011
Mr. Howard Ruisch, age 90, of Maurice, passed away on Sunday, September 25, 2011, at the Orange City Area Health System Hospital.
There will be a funeral service on Thursday, September 29, at 10:00am, at the First Reformed Church in Maurice. The Rev. Wayne Sneller will officiate. Interment will follow at the Sherman Township Cemetery near Maurice.
Howard Richard was born on August 15, 1921, in Kenneth, Minnesota, the son of Dick and Nellie (Beukelman) Ruisch. At age seven, his mother passed away. He then went to live with an uncle and aunt, John and Johanna Ruisch, in Maurice, where he attended a country school. He served as a gunner on a B-17 bomber in the United States Air Force, during World War II, and returning from the war he attended Morningside College in Sioux City.
On February 4, 1948, he married Wilma Marie Kuiken at the First Reformed Church in Maurice. They made their home in Maurice, where he owned and operated Ruisch Painting.
Mr. Ruisch was a member of the First Reformed Church, where he served on the consistory. He also belonged to the Pressman-Kosters American Legion Post in Orange City.
He was a councilman and mayor for the city of Maurice. He enjoyed time with his family, fishing, and watching the Minnesota Twins.
Survivors include his wife of more than 63 years, Wilma; a son and his wife, Randy and Patti Ruisch, of Johnston, Iowa; four daughters, Connie Ripley, of Burnsville, Minnesota; Cindy, and her husband, Robert Lewis, of Bettendorf, Iowa; Rachel, and her husband, Tim Gray, of Florissant, Colorado; and Jana, and her husband, Chris Smolenski, of Victorville, California; eleven grandchildren, Kim Welge, Ryan Ruisch, Lindsay Binnie, Chris Ripley, Aaron Ripley, Jason Lewis, Erica Morrow, Lauren Rostron, Annie Smolenski, Jacob Smolenski, and John Smolenski; eleven great-grandchildren; a sister, Dorothy Prins, of Edgerton, Minnesota; a brother, Pete Ruisch, of Nuevo, California; and two cousins who were like siblings, Gene Ruisch and Berdena Grady, both of Le Mars.
In addition to his parents and uncle and aunt who raised him, he was preceded in death by two brothers, Bill Ruisch and Ned Beukelman; and a cousin, Willis Ruisch
Source: Oolman Funeral Home, Orange City, IA., obit.