Ruth Rus was born Feb. 14, 1935, the daughter of Carl and Gertrude Kramer in Ackley. She passed away in Phoenix, AZ, on June 4, 2019, at the age of 84. A celebration of life was held Monday, June 10, at the Whitney & Murphy Funeral Home, Phoenix, AZ.
Ruth is survived by her three brothers, Ronald, Martin, and Gerald Kramer, all of Pella, and her sister Marian TenPas of Oostburg, WI. She is also survived by many friends, neighbors, and acquaintances with whom she kept in contact throughout the years via letters, emails, and greeting cards. She liked keeping informed of life back in Iowa by reading the various newspapers of the towns and people she knew. She will always be remembered for her thoughtfulness of others and the way she remembered and visited her sick and aging friends.
She was married to Peter H. Rus on June 21, 1957, in Pella, and together they enjoyed 46 years of marriage until Pete's passing on Nov. 1, 2003.
Ruth moved to Sully in 1944 beginning her elementary education in the Ackley School System and finishing her schooling at Sully Christian School before attending high school at Sully High School.
Ruth was a longtime member of the Phoenix Christian Reformed Church after she and Pete moved to Phoenix in 1961. She enjoyed sending out church bulletins to those unable to attend worship services, writing to missionaries, and working in the church library.
She was employed by Motorola Corporation in Phoenix for many years as a secretary and administrative assistant. Ruth was a proficient typist and was very adept at computer use. In her retirement, she kept busy doing accounting for Rod's Carburetor. She enjoyed using her computer to communicate with friends and family and was emailing people until the day she became a patient at Banner Medical Center. She dearly loved caring for the numerous stray cats she and Pete adopted throughout the years.
She will be remembered for her quiet encouragement of others, her constant thoughtfulness, her generosity to those in need, her newsy notes, letters, and emails, and above all, her faithfulness to God.
