RUTH WOLF NELSON       10 February '31---26 December '23

Ruth was born to Walter and Bessie Wolf of the Rochford/Hill City area on February 10th, 1931. Her father worked for the US Forest Service in South Dakota, Colorado, and two years in Northern California, before returning to work for Homestake Mining Company along Sand Creek and Moskee, Wyoming before coming to  the Spearfish Timber department of Homestake. Over these years, Ruth, along with her brothers, Dick and Don attended several schools(including one room schools, including the one in Beulah, Wyoming, before eventually coming to the Spearfish, SD schools. Ruth graduated from Spearfish High School in 1949, receiving the annually awarded Homestake scholarship, being the only Spearfish student to be awarded that scholarship, all others going to Lead High School graduates prior to her award. She used that scholarship to attend SD State College at Brookings, SD, graduating in 1953, Magna Cum Laude with a major in Mathematics. Math majors were assigned to the Engineering school for administrative purposes.  An outstanding  math student with a pleasant personality, she was also elected Queen of the Engineering College's Annual Ball.

Always a good student and especially strong in mathematics, upon graduation in 1953, she was invited to remain at SDSC to teach freshman mathematics, as well as serve as a House Mother for 13 senior women students at a house located on the SDSC campus. She was happy to do this, since she was awaiting her fiancé Jim's return from a one year assignment flying B-29's during the Korean War. Ruth had met Jim while both worked summer jobs for Homestake Mining Co. during their college years.

Ruth and Jim married August 15th, 1954 and began their married life at Hunter AFB, Savannah, GA. Shortly after arrival there, Jim was deployed on a 3 month overseas tour and Ruth decided to use her skills as a math teacher. She applied at Savannah High School and was immediately hired to teach 5(of six) classes per day of high school math there. She continued to teach there until Jim's completion of his Air Force tour and they returned to SD in January, 1956. Jim entered graduate school at U of Wyoming. Ruth accompanied Jim until April, when she returned to stay with her parents in Spearfish until arrival of their first child in June.

Janet was born July 26th and the family moved to Mt. View, Wyoming, where Jim was hired as the high school coach and teacher. Jim received a surprise notice of recall to active USAF duty in March, 1957. A short time later, after Jim's training at Mather, AFB, Sacramento, CA., and with Ruth now pregnant with our second child, they moved again to Topeka, KS and Jim's assignment to RB-47 jet aircraft. Daughter Nancy was born in October, 1957, followed by son David, May, 1959, and son Jeff, July, 1960. Ruth had her hands full with those 4 babies, especially during the 3-4 month periods each year when Jim was gone for overseas duty. In 1962, Jim was assigned to Wright-Patterson AFB, Dayton, OH as a student at the USAF Institute for Technology. Upon graduation, he was assigned as an engineer at the USAF Propulsion Laboratory. Ruth remained totally involved in raising four young children, but did find time to do some substitute teaching of math in the local high school. Tragedy struck the family in 1965 with the loss of their daughter, Janet, to leukemia, after a two year battle with that terrible disease. In 1969, Jim was assigned a one year flying tour in Vietnam, just as Ruth  was surprised to be expecting a baby! Ruth again had to deal with a new baby, while raising 3 others that were near teen-agers! With the help of close friends and the kids, she managed that year and also managed to meet Jim in Hawaii for a one-week combat leave before he returned to finish his tour in August. Upon his return, Jim was assigned to Andrews AFB, Washington, D.C. and the family moved to Camp Springs, MD where they would experience big schools and big city life.  Our family began attending an Episcopal Church there in our Maryland neighborhood. Ruth, a long time Methodist, enjoyed that local church and committed to joining the Episcopal church and subsequently joined Nancy, Dave and Jeff in Confirmation, which was done in the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C. Nancy graduated from High School in 1975 and the family returned to Dayton where Jim became the AF Propulsion Lab Commander and Ruth became The Commander's Wife with many formal and informal duties, including guidance and advice to many young wives of just-graduated USAF officers as well as similarly new college graduates assigned to the Lab. She was especially good at doing this job and was recognized frequently by senior officers and wives of the many units on this huge Base. It was just another challenge accepted and done well by Ruth, who now was so professional and competent on whatever was needed to be done. Also, with our children now older and on their own paths, Ruth returned to teaching math at the local Sinclair Community College where  several thousand students were largely young-middle age adults trying to expand/improve their skills and jobs. She really enjoyed this student body and was several times honored by the school. In these years, She also became a guide at the USAF Museum  at Dayton, where the guides had to become totally expert in USAF history from the Wright Brothers on to the 1980's. As always, when Ruth took on a challenge, she was only satisfied with "being the best you can be" and became a "Docent" or senior expert on the Museum history, often providing formal overviews to visitors. Jim was promoted to larger Commands, eventually having 3500 personnel assigned. Ruth was well respected and appreciated as her responsibilities as the CO's wife grew significantly,

When Jim retired from USAF in 1984, he was hired by General Electric Aircraft Engines in Cincinnati, OH and the family, now Jim, Ruth and daughter, Kathy, moved to Cincinnati, a city known for its Garden Clubs. Ruth joined one of those clubs whose members were already well-known to her. Her specific club was well recognized around the southern Ohio area and she was happily and deeply involved in the family's 10 years in Cincinnati. As Jim completed those 10 years and youngest daughter, Kathy, graduated from high school and went off to college, Jim and Ruth "moved back to the mountains" in Prescott, AZ and thoroughly enjoyed exploring AZ, doing some foreign travel and enjoying summers in Spearfish, SD where they were fortunate enough to have bought a cabin in the Spearfish Canyon, Elmore area in 1987, staying there from May through October each summer, before moving back to Prescott over the rest of the year. Ruth so enjoyed both places and hiking, either alone, with friends, or with organized hiking clubs. She also continued her unique gardening experiences at each home.

In our years in AZ, she became involved with "high desert" gardening there. One year there, when a key member backed out of a commitment to run the annual AZ garden show, Ruth took responsibility to run that very high visibility operation at Sedona, AZ and received plaudits as the best ever AZ annual show and the personal commendation of the State President of Garden Clubs. With her wide experience at accepting responsibility at high levels, and her organized "mathematical" thinking, as well as her people management experience, she was a true role model for many.

After10 enjoyable years wintering in AZ, Jim and Ruth made the decision to return to Spearfish and built a beautiful home here.  A long time quilter with a local club, she won best of show honors at the 2016 Western SD Quilt Show in Rapid City. Soon after, she began to suffer short term loss of memory and finger agility. She entered Edgewood Memory Care in December, 2022 when it became evident that Jim could no longer provide the needed care at home.

Ruth passed away at the Edgewood facility on 26 December, 2023 after receiving great care there by the staff and by Hospice in the past few weeks. She is survived by her children Nancy Schuldt(Jeff), David Nelson(Linda), Jeff Nelson(Kelly), Kathy Reed(Scott), 9 grandchildren(Steven, Megan, Tim, Jenna, Gregory, Andrew, Rachel, Kirsten, and Emma, and three  great grandchildren Cece, Zeke, and  Charis.

A member of All Angels Episcopal Church in Spearfish, once she had committed to the Episcopal faith as noted above, she served as needed from Altar Guild to Vestry Member in Dayton, Cincinnati, Prescott and here in Spearfish. She will be sorely missed by her family, her church family and her many friends and co-workers.