DICKSON, Ruth M. 1913-1995

DICKSON

Posted By: Gordon Felland (email)
Date: 11/25/2004 at 21:00:58

Ruth Marie Dickson, 82, of Manly, died Sunday (Aug. 13, 1995) at her home in Manly. Funeral services will be held 1:30 p.m. Thursday at the Bethel United Methodist Church in Manly. Burial will be in Memorial Park Cemetery in Mason City. Friends may call from 5 to 8:30 p.m. on Wednesday and from 9 to 11:30 a.m. on Thursday at the Bride Colonial Chapel, 110 E. Spring St., Manly, and one hour prior to service time at the church.

Ruth Marie Escherich Dickson was born on March 9, 1913, in Birchwood, Wis., the daughter of Edward Emmanuel Escherich and Juliana (nee) Doebel Escherich. At an early age, Ruth moved with her parents and her brother, Elbert to Hanlontown. She attended school and graduated from the Hanlontown High School in May of 1931. While in school, she was very active in the music and drama programs, playing piano and taking part in the operetta and plays. She graduated as valedictorian of her class.

After graduation, she played piano in a dance band, ``Ruth's White Owls'' for several years.

She was married on July 1, 1934, to her high school sweetheart, Marion F. Dickson at the Little Brown Church in Nashua, by the Rev. Kent. After a short honeymoon at Lake Okoboji, she and Marion returned to the Wheeler Ranch where Marion farmed with his father. In February of 1935, they moved to an Independent Order of Foresters Farm where they farmed for two years, moving to a farm in Deer Creek Township in Worth County where they farmed for six years. There, their daughter, Bonnie Lou Dickson was born on July 31, 1940. After six years, they moved to the Henry Backhaus farm for three years when they bought their own farm in Floyd County, 5 ¼ miles northeast of Nora Springs.

Ruth was very active in the Evangelical United Brethern Church at Nora Springs, playing piano for the adult Sunday school and working in the WSWS. She was president of the Music Mothers group at the Nora Springs High School and participated in the cancer drive every year besides being a busy housewife on the farm. Since living in Manly, Ruth had, with her husband, transferred their church membership from the Methodist Church at Nora Springs to the United Methodist Church in Manly. Ruth belonged to the Friendship Circle there.

She also played the piano with a rhythm band at the Manly Care Center on Tuesday mornings and piano on Saturday night supper there. She loved older people and said, ``I am old people entertaining old people.'' She also went the last Friday of the month to entertain the folks at Liberty Square and the Nora Springs Care Center at Nora Springs for a number of years. She belonged to the Manly Development Committee and helped organize bingo which was their project to help buy and maintain a taxi for the town. She helped at the bingo lunch stand every week until a heart attack caused her to quit. She also helped with Rail Road Ag Days from the time it began and was the grand marshal one year.

She had a great love for her family; husband, Marion; daughter, Bonnie and husband, Jerry Stickney of Nora Springs; granddaughters, Kathi and her husband, Ron Rasmus of Garner; Susan Snow of Homer, Alaska; and great-grandson, Andrew Rasmus of Garner; and a host of many friends.

She leaves besides her immediate family, a sister-in-law, Vonna Escherich of Waterloo; and two nieces, Nancy Sue Sarenpa of Waterloo, and Betty Jean (Dickson) Graversen of Plymouth.

Preceding her in death were her husband, Marion, who died on Jan. 31, 1990; her parents; a brother, Elbert E. Escherich; a great nephew, Erick Sarenpa; and a sister-in-law and brother-in-law, Clarinda and Claude Dickson.

Source: Mason City Globe Gazette, 8/17/1995