Gloria Helen Ruschmeyer

Gloria was born on July 22, 1928 in Lauderdale, MN. She was the “middle” child of the Tow family, having an older sister and a younger sister. Gloria attended Murray High School in St. Anthony Park and, upon graduation, worked for the War Department in Washington D.C. during WWII in the secretarial pool.

She returned to Minnesota in 1946 and enrolled in the University of MN in 1947. She was accepted to the College of Medical Sciences and she completed her Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing in 1952. It was in a Chemistry class at the University that she met her future husband, Orlando R. Ruschmeyer. They were married at Como Park Lutheran Church on September 7th, 1951 and just celebrated 70 years of marriage this year. They spent their honeymoon taking a trip to Alaska by traveling the Alaskan “highway” in a used 1940 Plymouth and camping in a tent. They encountered places where there were only two planks to drive on to cross water, and the occasional boulder partially blocking the road.

Gloria worked as an R.N. at the University of Minnesota Hospital for her entire career. For many years, she was on the OB/GYN unit and eventually became the Charge Nurse. She always loved working with new mothers and newborns. Gloria stepped away from her nursing career when expecting her daughter, Ann, in 1956. Her son, Jim, was born in 1959. She remained a stay-at-home mom until 1970 when she returned to the nursing Float Pool part time.

She and Orlando made their home in Lauderdale, just a block from where she, herself, was raised. As a homemaker and mother, Gloria found many outlets for her creative talents. She enjoyed gardening for both flowers and vegetables and she had quite a green thumb. The fruits of her vegetable gardening labors were often preserved by “canning,” a skill she acquired from her mother.

She was also a good cook and baker, and she taught these skills to her son and daughter. The annual production of Christmas cookies was a sight to behold and was an anticipated even for the entire family. She was an accomplished seamstress whose talents allowed her to make many dresses for herself and her daughter, as well as home décor. She was also a skilled upholsterer who revitalized everything from chairs and ottomans to automobile seats. She enjoyed painting, knitting, needlework, and even millenary projects in the early ‘60s.

She was a gracious hostess to anyone who arrived at her door: everyone from neighbors, to Bridge Club, to family gatherings, to foreign Graduate students studying under her husband at the University.

She found great joy in corresponding with her Nursing classmates through their “Round Robin,” a collection of letters which passed from one classmate to the next over the course of a year. She was able to stay connected and up to date with her classmates’ activities for decades.

Gloria authored and published The History of Lauderdale, which documents the beginnings and growth of the community that she grew up in. She was an active member in the local Parent Teacher Association (PTA), helping to plan events and raise money for the neighborhood school. She also served on the League of Women Voters helping people register to vote and also as an election judge. She was involved in the annual Poppy Sale to raise money for our country’s veterans.

Music had a special place in Gloria’s life and she loved to sing and played the piano. She was a member of a performing choral group, “The Lauderdale Mother Singers.” She also joined her church’s choir and stayed active for many years, as attending church was a very important commitment to Gloria.

Later in life, Gloria attended a Community Education class in watercolor painting with her daughter. Using this medium, she expressed her love of nature; many of her subjects were animals or landscapes. She continued to paint until just a few years ago.

Gloria was the ultimate helpmate. She spent many summers in Duluth with her children and her husband as he worked on his Masters and PhD. degrees. She proofread and typed his Theses as a labor of love.

Gloria did enjoy traveling. She made multiple trips to family reunions across the U.S. She took her father on a trips to Alaska and Maine, so he could say that he had visited all 50 states. She went to Europe with her sister, and to Disney World/Epcot Center with her son. She also relished time at the family cabin in northern Minnesota. Opportunities to pick wild blueberries, raspberries or chokecherries and turn them into syrup or jelly were not to be missed! Gloria looked forward to walks in the woods, spending time fishing, or just relaxing with a crossword puzzle and listening to the birds and chipmunks.

Gloria took great pride in both of her children, and in the comfortable, loving home she made for her family. She remained very close to her parents and her two sisters and their families throughout her lifetime; family birthdays and holidays were large, wonderfully noisy gatherings which brought them all together multiple times during the year.

She was one of the most generous and giving people on Earth, and she possessed an unlimited amount of patience. She was an exceptional listener ~ preferring to let others tell their story before she spoke. She was sincere and generous with her time and talents. We will miss Gloria in so many ways, but especially her kind heart and gentle spirit, her friendly smile, her warm embrace, and most of all, the love that only a Mother can give.

Gloria is preceded in death by her husband, Orlando Rutherford Ruschmeyer, her parents, Raymond Harper Tow and Elsie Amelia Tow (Nelson), sister Dolores Digerness (Tow) and husband, Reverend Berdell Digerness; brothers in law, David Lee Beck and Roger Earl Peterson; nieces Mary Kay Peterson and Karen Lee Sorenson (Beck) and her husband Paul, sister-in-law Darnelle Elaine Hendrix (Ruschmeyer) and her husband Samuel Hendrix M.D.

She is survived by her daughter, Ann Louise Donovan (Ruschmeyer) and husband Lawrence “Larry,” her son James Kenneth Ruschmeyer, her sister Virginia Rae Carlson (Tow) and husband Ralph, and Virginia’s children, David Russell Beck (Valentine), Raymond Carl Beck (Cindy), Barbara Ann Clausen (Beck) and husband David Clausen, sisters-in-law Donna Marie Mills (Ruschmeyer) and husband James, and sons William John Mills (Linda) and Michael James Mills, sister-in-law Elna Mae “Tynee” Peterson (Ruschmeyer) and Nancy Ann Peterson and husband Steve; nieces Deborah Ann McDermott (Digerness) and husband Joel), Mary Beth Weber (Digerness) and husband Reverend Karl Weber, Sarah Haase (Digerness) and husband Steve, nephew John Digerness, nieces Kathleen Hendrix, Shirley Allen (Hendrix) and husband, as well as extended family and many, many friends.

Join us to Celebrate Gloria's Life on Monday, November 8th, 2021, at Sunset Funeral Home, 2250 St Anthony Blvd NE, Minneapolis. Visitation will start at 11:30 am, service at 12:30 and interment to follow at 1:30 pm.