Ruth Mary DeMeulenaere, 21 Oct 1930 - 08 Jul 2024

DEMEULENAERE, MICHALEK, EDELEN

Posted By: Sarah Witte (email)
Date: 7/17/2024 at 14:48:41

Ruth Mary DeMeulenaere, 93, of Victor, IA, passed away peacefully at the Brooklyn Community Estate in Brooklyn, IA on July 8, 2024.

A Funeral Mass will be held at 2:00 pm, Friday, July 12, 2024 at St. Bridget Catholic Church in Victor, IA.

A rosary will be held prior to the Funeral Mass at 12:30 pm, followed by a visitation from 1:00 pm -2:00 pm.

Immediately following the Funeral Mass, burial will be held at Victor Calvary Cemetery. Following the burial a meal will be provided back at St. Bridget Catholic Church.

In Lieu of flowers, memorials may be designated to the Univ. of Iowa Stead Family Children’s Hospital Fund, mailed in care of Smith Funeral Home, PO Box 368, Grinnell, IA 50112.

Ruth, daughter of August and Katherine (Michalek) DeMeulenaere was born October 21, 1930, in Victor, Iowa. She was the youngest of seven children. Ruth was educated at Warren No. 5 in Poweshiek County and at St. John’s Catholic School in Victor where she was a graduate with the class of 1948. Ruth helped her dad on the family farm growing up and after graduation. She later worked at Fontinel Produce for 18 years and then at Victor Locker for 22 years before retiring. She also helped her aging parents at home in their later years. Ruth was a member of St. Bridget’s Church and the Altar & Rosary Society, Victor.

She was preceded in death by her parents, three sisters: Sister Therese DeMeulenaere MM, Sister Irene DeMeulenaere OLVM and Evelyn Edelen; and three brothers Francis, Vincent and Bernard DeMeulenaere; niece, Therese Anderson; and nephew, Gregory DeMeulenaere. She is survived by 17 nieces and nephews and their growing families.

Outside of work, Ruth led an active and independent life. She bowled in league for many years and enjoyed softball, swimming, golfing, fishing, walking and bicycling. She especially loved the Dodger’s and Iowa Women’s Basketball. Ruth loved all sports, whether it was watching an event in person or on TV or listening to it on the radio. She enjoyed supporting the local teams and watching her relatives and friends play. Ruth also loved to play softball and football with the nephews and nieces until things got too rowdy.

She also collected pencils and pens, a collection of over 2,500 that she started in the late 1930’s, when she was just a child. Her collection included everything from local advertising to novelty ones to foreign ones that she carefully sewed to sheets of cardboard. Many family members and friends would bring her pens or pencils from their travels.

After Sunday Mass, Ruth would host several family and friends for coffee and coffee cake followed by a glass of wine. While the adults were having coffee, the kids knew there was a box of toys on the steps waiting for them to play with.

Ruth enjoyed helping on the farm during the harvest, where you might find her in the combine or on a tractor. She also loved talking about farming and livestock. Growing up on the farm, at the young age of eight, she was able to drive the tractor, cut the hay and the oats.

She learned to drive a car when she was ten and was able to get her permit when she was fourteen. Later, she taught some of the nieces and nephews how to drive.

Apparently in her younger days, Ruth was a champion trapper of pocket gophers. According to a newspaper article, using 15 traps, she caught 95 one year and 38 the following spring, making a total of 133 rodents taken from an 80-acre field.

Ruth also tried making homemade Root Beer once when they lived on the farm. Everyone was in the house when they heard popping noise coming from the basement. The Root Beer was blowing the caps off the bottle and hitting the ceiling. That was the end of her Root Beer Career!

Sometimes you might find Ruth and a few friends sitting in lawn chairs in her driveway having a beer and waving to people going home from work. She also loved a good game of cards, rummikub, cribbage, dominoes and several other games with family and friends. Ruth also loved teaching games to the younger ones. She was also able to finally get to teach an older niece how to play Kings on the Corner.

Ruth loved her family of all ages, and they loved her. She attended the Annual DeMeulenaere Reunion each year and many family gatherings. Her meatloaf and cherry cheesecake were always a hit.

A few of us had the opportunity to go with Ruth to visit Sister Irene in East Chicago, IN and Huntington, IN. It usually included a stop along the way at a McDonald’s for an Egg McMuffin.

Ruth was always good at giving her nieces and nephews and Godchildren a little something at Christmas and for their birthdays.

Some other memories with Ruth include: her smile; going bullhead fishing at Waterville, MN; picking up hickory nuts in the fall and cracking them in the winter; playing Bingo at the KC Hall; watching her candling eggs; having a piece of pie; trying moonshine; teaching how to ride a bike and how to shoot a gun; bike rides and walks for exercise ending up with a stop for a donut; using her manual typewriter; getting to know other relatives better; golf cart rides; Sunday afternoon visits; going to Kernels games; a glass of wine or a beer with friends and family; walking the Pumpkin Vine every spring to look at wildflowers; and just being there for us when we needed her.

These are just a few of the many, many wonderful memories of our Aunt Ruth. The more we think back, the more we’ll remember and the more we’ll smile. Ruth, or “Ruthie” as many of us called her, was a special Aunt, cousin, relative and friend to many and will truly be missed. It was a loving privilege to be part of your life.

Thank you to Brooklyn Community Estate nurses and staff for your loving care. Ruth loved to tease you and you loved to tease her back.

Published on Smith Funeral Home website, an abbreviated version was published in The Gazette on July 11, 2024.