Willems, Ruth E. (1915-2003)

Mennonite Weekly Review obituary: 2003 Mar 3 p. 11

Birth date: 1915 Aug 21

text of obituary:

RUTH E. WILLEMS

Ruth E. Willems, 87, of Goshen, Ind., died Jan. 29, 2003, as a result of cancer. She was born Aug. 21, 1915, to D.D. and Maggie (Kuhns) Miller in Protection, Kan.

She married Abe L. Willems on Nov. 29, 1941, in Yoder, Kan.

She accompanied her husband to Rhode Island in Civilian Public Service from 1942 to 1945. They lived in Berlin, Ohio, from 1945 to 1956, and in Goshen since 1956.

A 1937 graduate of LaJunta (Colo.) Nursing School, she also graduated from Hesston (Kan.) College in 1939 and Goshen College in 1960. She practiced nursing for several years and taught school for 24 years.

She was a member of the state and local Retired Teachers Association. She was a member of College Mennonite Church in Goshen, where she participated generously in church activities. She was an avid walker, enjoyed a variety of handicrafts and was dedicated to her family.

Survivors include her husband, Abe; two sons, Arnold and his wife, Wanda, of Laramie, Wyo., and Ken and his wife, Ann, of White Pigeon, Mich.; a daughter, Rhonda Swartzendruber and her husband, Douglas, of Malibu, Calif.; a sister, Ethel Stutzman of Goshen; two brothers, D. Paul Miller of Normal, Ill., and Dennis Miller of Elkhart, Ind.; seven grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.

She was preceded in death by a brother, N. Emerson Miller. Funeral services were held at College Mennonite Church. Burial was in Elkhart Prairie Cemetery in Goshen.