Obituary of Ruth Adams

Ruth Christina Matilda (Boernsen) Adams was born on December 31, 1927 on a farm in Osceola County, Iowa to William and Mary (Recher) Boernsen. She was baptized and confirmed at St. John’s Lutheran Church in May City, Iowa and attended country school. Ruth graduated from Hartley High School in 1946 and enjoyed playing basketball and going to the 1946 Iowa State Girls Basketball Tournament. Ruth attended Iowa State Teachers College for a summer semester after graduating from high school and went on to teach country school. Ruth was united in marriage to Leonard Adams on June 4, 1948, and following their marriage they lived on the family farm outside of Hartley until moving to town in 1994. Ruth was an active farm wife who was comfortable working outside, while at the same time she was a dedicated homemaker who was a gifted cook, gardener, seamstress, and a wonderful mother to her six children. She later worked outside the home, but her greatest joy was raising her children and hosting gatherings for family and friends. Ruth entered the Community Memorial Health Center in April of this year and passed away there on December 23, 2014 at the age of 86. Throughout her life, Ruth was a strong Christian and an active member of St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Hartley. She was a selfless daughter, sister, wife, mother, grandmother, aunt, and friend who showed what it meant to love one another as Christ has loved us. Her faith, hard work, strength, kindness, humility, hospitality, forgiving ways, and patience served as an example to all who knew her and especially to her children and grandchildren. Left to cherish her memory are her children: David Adams and his wife, Ann of Sheboygan, Wisconsin, Veronica Groenveld and her husband, Ivan of Parkersburg, Iowa, Emily Wagner and her husband, William of Edina, Minnesota, and Tom Adams and his wife, Sharon of Hartley; her son-in-law, Steve Baumgarten of Oro Valley, Arizona; her sister, Phyllis Stap of Fort Collins, Colorado; her many beloved grandchildren and great-grandchildren; as well as other relatives and friends. Ruth was preceded in death by her parents; her in-laws, Frank and Ethel Adams; her husband, Leonard; two daughters: Claudia Adams and Patricia Baumgarten; her sister, Ella Kraninger; her great-granddaughter, Annika Heeringa; her brother in-law, William Stap; and her niece, Joann Stap. Celebration of Life Ruth C. Adams Born ~ December 31, 1927 Died ~ December 23, 2014 Age ~ 86 years 11 months 24 days Memorial Service 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, December 30, 2014 St. Paul's Lutheran Church Hartley, Iowa Officiating ~ Rev. Jesse Burns Organist ~ Donna Ahlers Congregational Singing Processional ~ "Lift High the Cross" #837 "Jesus Loves Me" #588 Recessional ~ "Just As I Am Without One Plea" #359 Pallbearers Steve Baumgarten Claudia Baumgarten Bess Lamoreux Alison Adams Heeringa Corrie Stewart Wagner Paul Adams Tim Stewart John Kramer Sheena Kramer Jillian Combs Colin Groeneveld Lindsay Wagner Pronk Sydney Wagner Brett Wagner Pierce Adams Ethan Adams Noah Adams Ushers Ed Harders ~ Doug Nagel Interment Pleasant View Cemetery Hartley, Iowa (9:30 am. – prior to the Memorial Service)