Ruth Caroline Van Westen, 96, Ellsworth, died Sunday, Feb. 28, 2021, at the Parkview Manor in Ellsworth.
A funeral service will be at 10:30 a.m. Friday, March 5, with visitation beginning at 9:30 a.m., at Hartquist Funeral Home in Luverne. Burial will follow at Memory Gardens Cemetery near Luverne. Masks will be required and social distancing and occupancy guidelines will be observed. The link for her live-streamed funeral service is at www.hartquistfuneral.com
Ruth Klaassen was born on June 6, 1924, to John and Edith (Klaassen) Klaassen in George, Iowa. She was baptized at Zoar Presbyterian Church in George. Ruth attended Little Rock Public High School and graduated in 1942. She then attended Cedar Falls Teaching College, graduating in 1943. Ruth taught country school from 1943 to 1947. She then taught third-fourth grade at Little Rock Public School from 1947 to 1950. She then was secretary at the Iowa Highway Commission in Rock Rapids, Iowa, from 1950 to 1952.
On Dec. 6, 1952, Ruth married Albertus Van Westen at Salem Reformed Church in Little Rock. Ruth and Albertus resided in Rock Rapids after their marriage. In December 1953 they moved to a farm northwest of Luverne where Ruth was a homemaker and housewife. In 2008 Bert and Ruth moved to Luverne, where they lived until 2018 when they moved to Parkview Manor Nursing Home in Ellsworth. There they enjoyed many visits from Bert’s sisters, other relatives and friends.
Ruth was a member of the American Reformed Church in Luverne. She enjoyed collecting cookbooks, spoons and mugs of the individual United States.
Ruth is survived by her two sons, Keith (Caroline Marion) Van Westen of Luverne and Kevin (Kathy) Van Westen of Sioux Falls, South Dakota; three grandchildren, Sarah Van Westen, Justin (Amanda) Van Westen, and Brandon (fiancée Elizabeth Soukup) Van Westen; and two great-grandchildren, Megan and Daniel Van Westen.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Bert, on March 12, 2o20; six brothers, Harmon, Raymond, John, Paul, Ronald and Alfred Klaassen; and five sisters, Esther Klinkenborg, Alma DeBuhr, Lois Snitselaar, Erma Wagenaar and Helena Sprock.
Arrangements are provided by Hartquist Funeral Home of Luverne.
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