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Ruth Elizabeth Wellemeyer Hanson
1918 - 2011
- Ruth E. Hanson
- February 7, 1918 - September 9, 2011
Ruth Elizabeth Wellemeyer Hanson was born February 7, 1918 to Arthur and Lydia
Griewe Wellemeyer of Klemme, Iowa. She was the fourth of five children.
She enjoyed growing up in Klemme. Her father owned a general store and was the
town undertaker. She and her sisters would sing for funerals and she handled her
father's bookkeeping starting in eighth grade. She played violin and piano and
sang in the Klemme high school where she graduated as valedictorian of her class
in 1935.
Following graduation she attended Iowa State Teachers' College in Cedar Falls
where she earned her teaching certificate. She taught country school near
Klemme, and grade school in Titonka and Nashua. She met her future husband
Burton Hanson while she was teaching in Titonka. He sent her a letter asking her
on a date. She sent a letter back declining. He did not receive the letter in
time and showed up for the date. Her three children are here because Ruth
decided to go out with Burton after all.
Ruth and Burton were married February 22, 1943, in the home of the bride's
parents. The newlyweds started wedded life on a farm five miles south of Titonka.
They farmed in partnership with Burton's parents, Julius and Anna Pearson Hanson
and raised three children Linda, Bruce, and Martha. During this time, Ruth was
active in the neighborhood club, served as a cub scout leader, and Sunday school
teacher. In 1949, the family began vacationing on the North Shore of Lake
Superior each August -- a tradition carried on to this day by her children,
grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.
To help put their children through college, Ruth returned to teaching in 1963
first at Corwith-Wesley and later Titonka Consolidated. She taught fifth grade
until 1979 when she retired and the same year Burton passed away. She soon
renovated a home in the southwest corner of Titonka and moved to town.
In retirement, Ruth served on the Titonka Library Board and was a Hospice
volunteer. She also developed a passion for quilting and worked with the Titonka
United Methodist quilters for more than 30 years. She enjoyed playing cards and
belonged to several card clubs. She had a competitive spirit and would show no
mercy when playing Aggravation or croquet, no matter how young the grandchild.
She was an avid reader and enjoyed talking books when her eyesight failed.
Ruth died September 9, 2011, at the Heritage Care Center in Mason City, Iowa, at
the age of 93.
Survivors include her daughter Linda and husband Robert Madison of Mapleton,
Iowa; son Bruce Hanson and wife Mary Kae of Wesley, Iowa; and daughter Martha
Hanson of Honolulu, Hawaii, as well as five grandchildren and nine great
grandchildren. Ruth was preceded in death by her parents, her husband Burton in
1979, granddaughter Susanne Minar, great granddaughter Kara Dobesh and brothers
and sisters, Andrew Wellemeyer, Ethel Bacon, Clarice Carlson and Nora Mohler.
Beyond these facts, Ruth was known for her quick wit, kindness and warmth. No
one could ask for a better mother or grandmother even if she closed every
conversation with "Work hard. Have fun. Be good."
The family requests memorial contributions to
be made to Iowa Hospice or United Methodist Church - Titonka.
source: Oakcrest Funeral Home, 58 NE 1st Ave, Titonka, IA, 50480;
800-564-3731
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Ruth Elizabeth Wellemeyer Hanson: born 7 Feb
1918 - died 9 Sep 2011
Grave marker at Evergreen Cemetery, Wesley,
Kossuth County, Iowa
Daughter of Franz Arthur Wellemeyer, born 1880
- died 1960 and Lydia Dora Griewe, born 1880 - died 1949
Wife of Burton Alldorf Hanson, born 1920 -
died 1979
- Sister of:
Andrew John Wellemeyer (1907 - 1961)
source: Find-A-Grave, memorial# 114939525
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