- Date Of Birth: March 17, 1921
- Date Of Death: April 22, 2007
- State: Montana
ERVIN L. RUFF
Ervin L. Ruff, age 86, passed away Sunday, April 22, 2007 at the Brendan House in Kalispell, Montana. He was born March 17, 1921 on the family farm near Lehr, North Dakota to L. B. and Emma (Weixal) Ruff.
Ervin attended grades 1 through 8 in a one-room schoolhouse in Lehr and worked on the family farm until he was 18 years old. He was a member of the CCC for a period of time before returning to the farm. In June 1942 he went into the army and was stationed at Fort Snelling, Minnesota and Fort Richie in Maryland, driving heavy trucks. After being honorably discharged on February 10, 1946 Ervin went to auto-diesel school in Nashville, Tennessee for 2 years. In 1950 he took a job as shop foreman for Sunbeam Motors in Jamestown, North Dakota. There he met Mary Jean Falk and the couple married on April 19, 1952. In 1953 Kalispell, Montana became home for the growing Ruff family. Loneliness was not a problem with 7 children and an assortment of cats. Ervin worked at Manion’s Garage from 1953 to 1964 and the COD Body Shop from 1964 until he opened his own garage in 1967 where he worked until his retirement in 1991. Ervin and Mary fearlessly loaded their children into cars or campers and traveled around the northwest, Canada, California and North Dakota. Sometimes they took the cat along too.
Ervin was preceded in death by two brothers; Vernon and Elroy and a sister Agnes all of North Dakota, He is now survived by his wife of 55 years, Mary Ruff of Kalispell, MT; their 7 children: Julie Ruff and her husband Randy Seright of Socorro, NM; Barbara Sawyer and her husband Bill of Missoula, MT; Jan Strait and her husband Dennis of Kalispell, MT; Mike Ruff of Colorado Springs, CO; Steve Ruff of Kalispell, MT; Teresa Falcon and her husband David of Kalispell, MT and Susanne Boudreaux and her husband John of Montgomery, AL; 7 grandchildren; Melissa, Kristina, Kaitlyn, Charles “Bud”, Jessica, Allison and Kayla; 1 great grandchild, Aliyah; one sister, Verna Flaig of Missoula, MT, sister-in-law, Lucille Ruff of Lehi, ND and several nieces and nephews,
Johnson Mortuary & Crematory is caring for Ervin’s family.
