Ruth Carol (Ruka) HAUGE

RUKA, HAUGE, RHODEBACK, BRENEGAN, ISCH, NOELDNER, BUNSE, CORBITT, MILES, HUDSON

Posted By: Sarah Thorson Little (email)
Date: 8/16/2010 at 10:19:38

April 20, 1922 -- August 13, 2010

GOODELL, IA — Ruth Carol Hauge, 88, passed away peacefully Friday (Aug. 13, 2010) at the Good Sheperd Care Center in Mason City, with her family at her side. Services will be held at 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 17, 2010, at the Trinity Lutheran Church, 303 Third Ave. N. E. in Belmond. Visitation will be from 4 to 7 p.m. today, Monday, August 16, at the Andrews Funeral Home, 516 First St. S.E., Belmond, and continue one hour prior to services on Tuesday at the church.

Ruth was born on April 20, 1922, to Harry and Ruby Ruka. She shared this birth date with her aunt, Dorothy Rhodeback, and it was also the wedding anniversary date of her parents. She lived with her parents on the farm until she went to Garner to complete her high school education. Ruth then attended and graduated from Waldorf College in Forest City. After working in Fort Dodge, Ruth met her future husband, Wilmer Hauge of Belmond. They were married on Jan. 1, 1944. Together they lived and worked on the family farm west of Goodell with Ruth’s parents. Three daughters were blessed to this union: Diane, Donna, and Delores. Eventually, Ruth worked for many years at the Steele Memorial Clinic where she greeted everyone with her warm, radiant smile and gentle spirit.

Ruth brought much joy to the lives of all of those who were privileged to know her. She loved her friends and family, and was often sending a greeting card or making a call to someone to lift their spirits, to wish them joy on a happy occasion, or share in their loss. Her faith in God and her church family were very important to her. She was a member of Trinity Lutheran Church where she served as a Sunday school teacher, was in the Ruth Circle, and helped others in many ways. For a time, Ruth was a volunteer with the bereavement program. She lived her life for others and followed the verses from Genesis 12, that we are “blessed to be a blessing” to others. Ruth was a person of many dimensions. She had immense compassion for animals. She was truly an animal lover and had a soft spot for any stray animal that would come to the family farm. She loved to travel and enjoyed several “bus trips” with friends. She had also made several trips to visit family in Illinois, Alaska and California. Braving some of those trips by herself. She also loved the beauty of creation and appreciated everything in it from the splendor of a bouquet of flowers, to the song birds she loved to feed, to the majestic mountains of Alaska. Other interests for Ruth were the Historical Society of Belmond and her involvement with the Kensington Club.

Ruth’s love of family was the core of her existence. She would say, “as far apart as we live from each other, we have been so blessed to be together as often as we have.” She deeply expressed her love for her family by acts of kindness in everything she did. She would send clippings from the Belmond Independent and various magazine articles, knowing there would be something of interest from the youngest to the oldest family member. Her love was priceless, endless, and unconditional.

Those grateful in sharing her life are her daughters and sons-in-laws, Diane and Steven Brenegan, of Godfrey, Ill., Donna and Murray Isch, of Mason City, and Delores and Richard Noeldner, of Cumberland, Wis. Her grandchildren: Tori Brenegan Bunse, Heather (David) Corbitt, Brian and Jason Isch, Kristi (Ron) Miles, Jason (Alexi) Noeldner, and Jenny (Matthew) Hudson. Also to cherish her memory are her great-grandchildren, Teryn, Nicholas, Claire, Tyler, Linnea, Eowyn, and Allision Ruth. She was preceded in death by her husband and parents.

Should friends desire, memorial contributions may be made to Trinity Lutherah Church, Belmond, Iowa, the American Heart Association, or a charity of your choosing. Andrews Funeral Home.

Mason City Globe Gazette - Iowa
August 16, 2010