Joan June (Lage) RUITER

RUITER, LAGE, MUHLENBRUCK, TRAETOW, UNGS, HARDESY

Posted By: Sarah Thorson Little (email)
Date: 9/26/2008 at 23:56:17

February 7, 2006

Joan Ruiter, 70, of Thornton, died on Friday, February 3, 2006, at her home. Funeral services were held on Monday, February 6, at the Thornton United Methodist Church, with Rev. Rodney Meester of the First Reformed Church of Meservey presiding. Interment was in the Meservey Cemetery.

Joan June, was born on January 1, 1936 at Latimer, the daughter of Earl and Agnes (Muhlenbruck) Lage. She was confirmed at the Meservey EUB Church and graduated from the Meservey High School. On September 20, 1953, she married Donald F. Ruiter at the Meservey United Methodist Church. They farmed around Meservey and she worked as a secretary at Fashion Farm north of town. In 1967, they moved to Thornton and purchased the locker. They transferred their membership to the Thornton United Methodist Church. After selling the locker, Joan worked at the Sheffield Care Center for ten years. Joan is remembered as the rock behind her family. She was always there for her husband and sons. She wrote in her diary every day and read it frequently, as she would remind her sons on the anniversaries of certain events. She loved the outdoors and spent many hours in the garden with her husband. Joan liked to cook and sit on the deck with her husband.

She was preceded in death by her father; brother and his wife, Dale and Gloria Lage; and father-in-law, Bernard Ruiter. Survivors include her husband; son, Randy (Suzanne) Ruiter of Denver, Iowa and their children, Megan (Brock) Traetow of West Des Moines and Bethany and friend, Andrew Ungs of Cedar Falls; son, Danny (Michele) Ruiter of Stanton, Nebraska and their daughters, Jessica and Richele; her mother of Meservey; mother-in-law, Marie Ruiter of Thornton; and sister-in-law, Janet (Glenn) Hardesy of Lexington, Nebraska.

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