- Date Of Birth: October 29, 1916
- Date Of Death: June 19, 2021
- State: Iowa
Ruth S. Keller, a good and faithful servant, entered into the joy of her Lord, June 19, 2021 at the age of 104, at the Westhaven Community in Boone, Iowa.
Ruth was born on the rural Dallas Center, Iowa farm of her parents, Katie (Schock) and John Keller, on October 29, 1916. She outlived two different epidemics and was always active, healthy and ready to serve her family, church and community with a sweet smile, helping hands and open heart.
For the first years of her education, Ruth attended a one-room country school and then continued in the Waukee, Iowa Consolidated School until her junior year. In her eighth grade she represented Waukee in the Dallas County spelling contest at which she was declared the county winner. She later finished her high school and junior college degrees at Messiah College and Academy. With an active mind, she continued to study, read, teach, write and do word puzzles all her life. Her clear memory and recitation of long stories and poems even until her 104th year provided her many nieces, nephews and other listeners great joy. Her own daily diaries of about ninety years were a source of fascination and history to her family as well as even to herself in her later years.
During her very full and long life, Ruth served as a devoted missionary ministry worker among communities in Stowe and Saxton, Pennsylvania and at Houghton Mission, Canada. When her aged parents needed care, she returned to their farm for seventeen years to attend to both of them and in the last six years faithfully day and night. After their deaths she continued her unselfish dedication, this time as a Bible teacher, radio operator, and book store manager at the Boone Biblical Ministries from 1974 until her move to the Westhaven Community in 2016.
At the age of 15, Ruth was baptized and became a member of the Old Order River Brethren in Dallas Center. She later joined the Dallas Center Brethren in Christ Church where she served as a youth leader, Sunday School and Bible School teacher, as well as steadfast coach for many Bible youth quiz teams which several times represented their MidWest region at the national church conference. She was also a member of the Brethren In Christ Women’s Missionary Prayer Committee at the denomination level. After her move to Boone, she was an active participant in the congregation and as a children’s Bible club leader in the Boone Biblical Ministry community.
Besides her parents, many aunts and uncles and a nephew who preceded her, Ruth outlived her two brothers and two sisters, Jacob (Lenore) Keller, Naomi (Norman) Rosenberger, John J. (Esther) Keller and Katie Mae (Ray) Nichols.
Remembering her with love as their dear mentor and aunt are her nieces and nephews: John (Alice) Rosenberger of Dallas Center, Ia.; David (Melissa) Rosenberger of Bloomington, Mn.; Daniel (Betsy) Rosenberger of Charlotte, Mi.; and nieces: Joy (Perry) Hawbaker of Dallas Center, Ia.; Faithe (Wendell) Zercher of Mechanicsburg, Pa.; Arlene Ruth (Larry) Hatfield of Richmond, Ca.; Anna Mary Mueller of Iowa City, Ia.; Ruth (Myron) Hostetter of Lancaster, Pa.; Susan (Matt) McBride of Mount Pleasant, Ia.; Kathryn ( Alan) Jacobs, of Morris, Ill.; and step-nephews, Donald, (S.O. Patricia) Nichols of Kansas City, Mo.; and Robert (Deborah) Nichols of Bellevue, Ne.She was a faithful correspondent and visitor with many cousins scattered across the country, to most of whom she had already said farewell. Known as Ruth, Aunt Ruth and Ruthie by her family, church and neighbors for over more than a century, her example of love, dedication and servant-hood will be hard to equal.
