Obit: Harden, Ruth Mae (1927 - 2017)

Contact: Dolores (Mohr) Kenyon
E-mail: dolores@wiclarkcountyhistory.org 

Surnames: Harden, Hanusa, Kelsh, Peplau, Scheffer, Klimek, Edwards, Schoo, Cumming, Platner, Rizzo, Wessel

----Source: Banner Journal (Black River Falls, Jackson Co., WI) 6/07/2017

Harden, Ruth Mae (1 September 1927 – 24 May 2017)

Ruth Mae Harden, 89, passed away peacefully May 24, 2017, at home surrounded by family, after a brief struggle with lung cancer. Ruth was born at home Sept. 1, 1927, in a farmhouse in the Town of Alma, Jackson County. She was the last child born to Ervin and Dora (Hanusa) Kelsh. She had three siblings, Marjorie, Betty, and Carroll (Bud).

In 1934, her parents decided to leave the farm, and they built a tavern/restaurant on Highway 12 in Humbird, called the Blue Jay Inn. Her father built and operated a blacksmith shop near the back of the tavern.

Moving to Humbird was a wonderful thing for Ruth, as she had the Humbird pond. Ruth was very active in St. John’s Evangelical Reformed Church in Humbird. She taught Sunday school, sang in the choir, and was secretary of the church.

Ruth credits her seventh-eighth grade teacher with having the greatest influence on her future. He encouraged her to enter the Federated Women’s Club Helen Mears Art Contest. She painted a picture of the train (the 400) going thru Humbird, for which she won first place. She continued to paint the rest of her life. Ruth graduated from Humbird High School in 1945, where her mother was on the school board and presented Ruth with her diploma.

Ruth’s teacher continued to be very important in her life. Because she was so interested in sports, he wrote to UW-La Crosse, and organized all the information for her to matriculate, and to become a teacher of physical fitness and sports. She followed that path and graduated from UW-La Crosse in 1949.

April 14, 1949, she married Robert Harden from Augusta at the United Church of Christ in Fall Creek. They lived on Lake Eau Claire, and she commuted to Chippewa Falls for two years to teach junior and senior high physical education, while Bob went to dog training school, and took in dogs to train for hunting, along with raising Weimaraner puppies.

In 1952, they moved to Montana, and their first child, Kim, was born in 1953. In 1954, Robert bought the Emanuel Meat Market in Augusta, and the family headed back to Augusta, where they lived for the next 43 years.

Ruth was very active in the Augusta community. She started a Kiddie Parade in 1959, parading down Stone Street. She called square dances at the Legion Hall, coached the junior high girls’ basketball team, became a WIAA referee for girls’ volleyball and basketball, and played recreational softball on the Uniroyal team. She was an active member of the Grace Lutheran Church.

Ruth cherished her positions working in the Augusta Area School District. She taught in the Augusta School District as a physical education teacher, and after receiving her master’s degree in guidance and counseling from UW-Stout, she became a K-12 guidance counselor in the Augusta Area School District. She later became the elementary principal.

Ruth and Bob had 11 years together after retirement, and they enjoyed many activities, such as wonderful hunting, and fishing trips to Canada. She was an avid hunter – her favorite was duck hunting, which she did with her brother Bud, and nephew in North Dakota every year. She hunted deer until she was 75. Ruth loved to garden, and she became a certified master gardener.

Ruth was a member of several boards, including the Eau Claire County Guidance Clinic, Augusta School Board, and she was on the Citizen’s Committee for Foster Care and Adoptive parents for many years.

Ruth was a natural athlete and participated in various sports her entire life. She placed fourth in the National Field Archery Association Tournament in Minneapolis in 1952. Ruth was a member of the Osseo Country Club Ladies Golf League, Pine Meadow, and Hickory Hills golf clubs. She was an avid tennis player, which she played well past her 88th year, where she met with most wonderful friends.

Bob passed away in 1994. In 1997, she married the Hon. Karl Peplau, and moved to Eau Claire. Karl passed away in 2006. Some years later, she attended a Humbird all-school class reunion, and was reunited with her high school friend, Francis Scheffer. They were united in matrimony by the Monsignor Klimek at the Sacred Heart Hospital Chapel July 21, 2010, and they continued to residence in Eau Claire.

Ruth leaves behind many who love her, including her devoted husband Frank Scheffer; her children, Kim Kenneth (Pam) of Fall Creek, Jon Robert (Lynn) of Frederick, MD, daughters; Dr. Cynthia Louise of New York, Susan Ruth (Fulton Derrick Edwards) of River Falls; grandchildren (Kim and Pam) David (Mallory), Jill Melanie, (Jon and Lynn) Nicole School (Corey), Kathryn and (Cynthia) Julia Coming; great-grandchildren (David and Mallory) Alexis, Jackson, and Madelyn; and her step-children, Donna Platner (Tim), Debbie Rizzo (Mike), Mark Scheffer (Barb), Chuck Scheffer (Jane), along with Paul and Jeff (Marilyn) Peplau.

She was preceded in death by her parents, siblings, husband Robert Harden, and husband Karl Peplau.

A visitation was held Monday, May 29, 2017, at the Anderson Funeral Home in Augusta. Funeral services were held Tuesday, May 30, 2017, at 11 a.m. at Grace Lutheran Church in Augusta with Rev. Jonathan Wessel officiating. Burial was in the West Lawn Cemetery in Augusta.

Ruth’s family extends their deepest thanks to the wonderful friends, and caregivers she had during her illness.