Ruth Connett was born on a farm southeast of Ringsted, Iowa, on April 29, 1928, to Thyra and August Sorensen. Her three brothers, Leo, Jake, and Lars, and one sister, Cora, all pitched in to help their father on the farm. When the two oldest boys joined the military in WWII, the girls took over their farm duties.
After high school graduation, Ruth went to Grandview College in Des Moines, Iowa. During the war, most of the students were women. After two years at Grandview, she entered Iowa State Teachers’ College, where she earned her teaching credential. One of her professors told her about the need for teachers to go to Europe to teach the children of American servicemen. This really appealed to her, but she had to teach for three years stateside before going overseas. She satisfied these requirements by teaching at Webster City, Iowa, and Fairmont, Minnesota.
Ruth taught for four years at schools in Kaiserslautern, Darmstadt, and Kassel, Germany, and while there, met her husband, William Connett, to whom she was married for more than 20 years. They moved to Washington, D.C., where her three children were born: Joe, Kris, and Liz, and she continued her teaching career. Later, the family moved to La Cañada, California.
She later moved to Pasadena, CA. In California, she worked providing school office support and volunteered at Huntington Hospital in Pasadena, the same hospital that employed her Uncle Einer as a doctor in the mid-1900s. Her volunteer role lasted for 22 years and gave her a sense of satisfaction in helping others. She later moved to Solvang, California, and then to her final home in Ventura, California.
She enjoyed many simple pleasures, including walking, reading, coffee, brunch with friends and ice cream. Over the years, she owned pets that brought her comfort, including her dog, Taffy, and bunny, Reeps.
She is survived by her three children, her son-in-law Glenn and daughter-in-law Elzbet, her grandchildren Scott, Dan, and Michelle, and her great-grandson Logan, and a large extended family. She was greatly loved and is greatly missed.
In lieu of flowers, Ruth would have appreciated a donation to Bethania Lutheran Church in Solvang, CA or to Huntington Hospital in Pasadena, CA.
