Ruth Berg, 93, of Woonsocket, passed away Saturday, Jan. 27, 2018, at Prairie View Healthcare Community in Woonsocket.
Funeral services were held Wednesday, Jan. 31, at the Spirit of Faith Church in Woonsocket, with Rev. Rhonda Wellsandt-Zell officiating. Burial was in Eventide Cemetery in Woonsocket. Visitation was one hour prior to the service at the church.
Ruth Orlou Anderson Berg was born Nov. 12, 1924, to Olive (Johnson) and Ludwig Anderson at her grandma Oline Johnson’s farm home, rural Mount Vernon. She had one brother, LaVerne, and a sister, Colleen. Ruth grew up in Denver, Colo.
Ruth married Fred Heider, and they had two children. She and the children moved back to South Dakota in 1947. For a time, she worked at Hendricks grocery store in Woonsocket. A favorite pastime was playing and pitching on Woonsocket’s women’s softball team.
Ruth reacquainted with Vernon Berg, who had purchased a farm near Twin Lakes in 1947 after his military service during World War II. They were married on Dec. 4, 1949, at his sister’s home near Plankinton. They continued to live and work on the farm while raising four children.
After 45 years on the farm, the couple retired to a new home in Woonsocket. They liked to travel and visited all 50 states and 14 foreign countries. They were members of Bethany Lutheran Church, now Spirit of Faith Lutheran-Methodist Church. Ruth was active in all church activities and especially enjoyed being part of Faith Circle. Vernon passed away in 1998.
Ruth was a homemaker, known for her delicious roast beef dinners with all the trimmings and pecan pie. She had a special talent in decorating, and treasured family and friends by attending special events, sending cards or making phone calls. Special activities for Ruth were shopping with her sister and travels with their husbands.
Ruth had been a resident of Prairie View since October 2012.
She is survived by her four children: Mark Berg of Sioux Falls, Joyce Brown of Blackhawk, Janis (Thomas) Weatherford of Ladora, Iowa, and Vicki (Richard) Linke of Woonsocket; a sister, Colleen Swenson of Woonsocket; 12 grandchildren; 23 great-grandchildren; and four great great-grandchildren.
She was preceded in death by her parents; husband, Vernon; brother, LaVerne Anderson and his wife, Shirley; and brother-in-law, Donald Swenson.
The family requests memorials be given in memory of Ruth to Spirit of Faith Lutheran-Methodist Church, Building Fund, PO Box 535, Woonsocket, SD 57385.
Arrangements were with Basham Funeral Service in Woonsocket.
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