Ruth Connor • 1927 - 2006

Ruth Connor, 79, resident of Minot for over 40 years, died Tuesday, December 19, 2006, at Trinity Homes where she had been living in recent years.

She was born on April 10, 1927, in Perrysburg, Ohio, a daughter of William B. Ward and Anna Rutschow Ward. She graduated from Perrysburg High School and attended Capital University in Columbus, Ohio.

She married the Reverend Robert J. Connor on August 15, 1948, in Perrysburg, Ohio. They lived in Ohio, Texas, Michigan, and New York, where he was engaged as a pastor and employed in social work before moving to Minot in 1964, when he was named executive director of the Dakota Boys Ranch. While living in Canton, Ohio, Ruth established a Lutheran preschool where she taught.

Active in First Lutheran Church of Minot, Ruth taught Bible classes for high school students in the church, and for some years led educational workshops in the parish. She wrote curriculum for kindergarten students as well as articles for Scope Magazine for Augsburg Publishers in Minneapolis. She held local, district, and national offices in American Lutheran Church Women, including the post of second vice president of the national ACLW to which she was named in 1975. Ruth was a national inspirational speaker, an educational workshop leader, and served on various committees for Church Women United.

For many years, Ruth worked with the clients at the Minot Vocational Workshop. This association led to holiday dinners for workshop friends at the Connor home in west Minot - an effort she and her husband Robert maintained for 22 years during the Easter, Thanksgiving, and Christmas feast days. The Connors were featured in a story in USA Today for their work with the handicapped and the needy.

In 1975, Ruth was named the recipient of the Golden Deeds Award from the Minot Exchange Club. She was nominated for the award by First Lutheran Church Women, who said in their nomination:

"Sensitive to needs, Ruth quietly and gently reaches out to fill them. If leaders need followers and supporters, she is there to work. If followers need leaders, she is equally comfortable in that role. She can be the cookie baker, the dish washer, the devotional leader, the speaker, the presiding officer, the visitor of the sick. She has a ready wit and a cheerful and gracious spirit."

Ruth was a member of Delta Kappa Gamma; Book Club; Past Presidents of First Lutheran FLCW; church circle member and leader.

Her husband died March 13, 1998. At the time of his death, Rev. Connor was the pastor of Hope Lutheran Church in Glenburn, a position he held for over 30 years. After his death, Ruth was appointed by Bishop Duane Danielson of the Western Synod of the ELCA to be lay pastor of that church, a position she held until illness forced her into the Trinity Nursing Home in Minot. While Ruth was at Hope Lutheran Church, she organized annual church Bible retreats and started the Hope Lutheran Annual Christmas Tea honoring Glenburn community members and teachers. It is a tradition that continues today.

Always with a smile, Ruth's life was an example of how Christians are supposed to live. She followed in the footsteps of Christ out of obedience, faith, hope, love, and charity. Surely that path is leading her to a happy eternity.

She is survived by a son Jeffrey A. Connor, Austin, TX; daughters, Marianna Connor Malm and her husband, Reed Malm, Fargo, ND; Kay E. Connor and her husband, Michael Morano, Yakima, WA, and Rev. Nancy J. Connor and her husband Rev. Dennis Sepper, Puyallup, WA; grandchildren Kristen Ames Connor and her husband Christopher Charlet, Ryan Connor, Molly R. Morano, Angie Morano and her husband, Aaron Noble; Emily E. Malm and Seth R. Malm; granddog, Rudy Zuzu; two great-grandchildren, Ferris and Xavier Charlet; sister, Corinne Ward Blakeman; Goddaughter, Joan Preskey Severson; a number of nieces and nephews.

Preceded in death by her husband, the Reverend Robert James Connor, who died March 13, 1998; her father William, her mother Anna; sister Vera Ward Wygant; brother Richard Ward.

Funeral: Saturday, December 23, 10:30 A.M. at Trinity Homes in Minot.

Burial: Rosehill Memorial Park, Minot.

Visitation: Friday (today) from noon to 7 P.M. at Thompson-Larson Funeral Home, Minot, with a Prayer Service at 7 P.M.

Memorials are preferred to Hope Lutheran Church, Glenburn, or Trinity Nursing Home 2 South Activities and Christmas Fund.

Celebrants of the Service
Rev. Luther Hanson, chaplain of Trinity Homes, Minot
Rev. Dennis Sepper
John Melland, Lay Pastor of Hope Lutheran Church
Glenburn, ND

Music
The congregation is asked to participate in singing
"Rejoice, Rejoice All Believers"
"For All The Saints"
Both printed as an insert to this folder
Organ interludes
"In the Bleak Mid Winter"
"Lord Of All Hopefulness"
Gary Stenehjem, organist

Honorary Bearers
Members of Hope Lutheran Church, Glenburn, ND
Staff of 2 South of Trinity Homes
All the people Ruth touched over the years

Active Bearers
Bob Franka, Sharon Shaw, Joan Severson, Bud Fletcher, Kim Rosberg, Roberta Fletcher

To sign the online guest register for Ruth
To view the online guest register for Ruth

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