Ruth E. Hanson

The family requests memorial contributions to be made to Iowa Hospice or United Methodist Church - Titonka. Ruth Elizabeth Wellemeyer Hanson was born February 7, 1918 to Arthur and Lydia Griewe Wellemeyer of Klemme, Iowa. She was the fourth of five children. She enjoyed growing up in Klemme. Her father owned a general store and was the town undertaker. She and her sisters would sing for funerals and she handled her father's bookkeeping starting in eighth grade. She played violin and piano and sang in the Klemme high school where she graduated as valedictorian of her class in 1935. Following graduation she attended Iowa State Teachers' College in Cedar Falls where she earned her teaching certificate. She taught country school near Klemme, and grade school in Titonka and Nashua. She met her future husband Burton Hanson while she was teaching in Titonka. He sent her a letter asking her on a date. She sent a letter back declining. He did not receive the letter in time and showed up for the date. Her three children are here because Ruth decided to go out with Burton after all. Ruth and Burton were married February 22, 1943, in the home of the bride's parents. The newlywe...[more]

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started wedded life on a farm five miles south of Titonka. They farmed in partnership with Burton's parents, Julius and Anna Pearson Hanson and raised three children Linda, Bruce, and Martha. During this time, Ruth was active in the neighborhood club, served as a cub scout leader, and Sunday school teacher. In 1949, the family began vacationing on the North Shore of Lake Superior each August -- a tradition carried on to this day by her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. To help put their children through college, Ruth returned to teaching in 1963 first at Corwith-Wesley and later Titonka Consolidated. She taught fifth grade until 1979 when she retired and the same year Burton passed away. She soon renovated a home in the southwest corner of Titonka and moved to town. In retirement, Ruth served on the Titonka Library Board and was a Hospice volunteer. She also developed a passion for quilting and worked with the Titonka United Methodist quilters for more than 30 years. She enjoyed playing cards and belonged to several card clubs. She had a competitive spirit and would show no mercy when playing Aggravation or croquet, no matter how young the grandchild. She was an avid reader and enjoyed talking books when her eyesight failed. Ruth died September 9, 2011, at the Heritage Care Center in Mason City, Iowa, at the age of 93. Survivors include her daughter Linda and husband Robert Madison of Mapleton, Iowa; son Bruce Hanson and wife Mary Kae of Wesley, Iowa; and daughter Martha Hanson of Honolulu, Hawaii, as well as five grandchildren and nine great grandchildren. Ruth was preceded in death by her parents, her husband Burton in 1979, granddaughter Susanne Minar, great granddaughter Kara Dobesh and brothers and sisters, Andrew Wellemeyer, Ethel Bacon, Clarice Carlson and Nora Mohler. Beyond these facts, Ruth was known for her quick wit, kindness and warmth. No one could ask for a better mother or grandmother even if she closed every conversation with "Work hard. Have fun. Be good."