Ruth Helen Anderson

Ruth H. (Graham) Anderson, 101, of Greentown, Indiana (formerly of Denver, Ind.) passed away on a beautiful spring day – less than two months shy of her 102nd birthday – at Century Villa Health Care and Rehabilitation on Friday, March 29, 2024.

The third of 11 children born to Charles and Bertha (Zimmerman) Graham, Ruth was born on May 22, 1922, in a farmhouse in Howard County, Indiana.

Ruth was a graduate of Clay Township High School in 1940 and nurtured a life-long love of learning and reading. She was an avid participant in Howard County 4-H and was selected as a delegate for Hoosier Girls State, the American Legion’s Girls State program in Indiana. After high school, she studied at Purdue University for a couple of years and took a job at a Farm Credit Company in Kokomo.

In June 1959, Ruth completed a program for attendant nursing at the Lapeer State Home and Training School operated by the State of Michigan’s Department of Health. She was chosen Valedictorian of her graduating class and began work as a Licensed Psychiatric Nurse. Prior to nursing, she also operated a bookmobile during the summer, delivering books across Lapeer County, Michigan.

On June 7, 1963, she married George Anderson and their daughter Joyce was born later that year. In 1973, Ruth and George purchased a farm outside of Denver, Ind., finally achieving her dream of owning a farm. She farmed for 48 years through a long-time farming partnership with Dennis Pugh (deceased).

She was a loving wife, mother, grandmother, sister, and friend. Ruth prioritized time with family and friends – always making time for any family gatherings and enjoyed finding and sending greeting cards with the perfect message for the moment. She made new friends easily and at every stage in life, welcoming conversation and regularly inviting friends and family to spend time on the farm.

Her love of the outdoors knew no bounds. She was an amateur naturalist who could identify every tree in Indiana and knew everything about every inch of her farm. She grew various crops; harvested walnuts; picked morels; made maple syrup; raised cows, goats, chickens, and other fowl; hosted a wandering flock of peacocks; and cared for many beloved dogs and cats. She grew a wide range of vegetables and fruit in her nearly one-acre garden and stewarded apple, persimmon, pawpaw, pear, maple, walnut, and chestnut trees. Her love of berry-picking was well-known, particularly blueberries and raspberries. She enjoyed long walks on country roads with George and her grandkids; excelled at fishing, hunting, camping, swimming, water skiing, canoeing, ice fishing, and ice skating; and would often open her farm to any children in the area who needed to complete nature projects on local flora and fauna. At the end of the day, you could find her sitting on the front porch, taking in the natural wonder of the world.

Ruth loved to bake and was famous for her cinnamon rolls, persimmon pudding, cornmeal rolls, pansy-topped sugar cookies, fruit cobblers, caramel corn, and homemade apple butter. She had a passion for photography, liked to sew, voraciously completed word searches, quilted, collected stamps, had an insatiable thirst for local history, and enjoyed a Spanish Chili-Cheese dog from B&K. She was a member of St. John’s Lutheran Church.

Her legacy will live on through memories of her fierce independence, strong work ethic, tireless energy, love of the natural world and animals, stewardship of the land she was entrusted, and her embodiment that it’s never too late to try new things.

She is survived by her daughter Joyce (Shawn); three grandchildren, Lucretia (Ben), Amelia, and Liam; her sister Sue and two brothers, Paul and Bob; along with numerous nieces and nephews and their children; as well as beloved granddog Paul and a loyal cat that thinks he’s a dog named Bigfoot. She was preceded in death by her parents, seven siblings (Bill, Mary, Edna, Norma, John, Esther, Jim), and her loving husband George, of 39 years.

A visitation will be held at 12 p.m. Friday, April 5, 2024, in the chapel at Sunset Memory Garden Funeral Home & Cemetery (2097 W. Alto Road) with a service to follow at 1:30 p.m. Ellers Mortuary has been entrusted with arrangements. A celebration of life will be held at a later date.

Memorial contributions can be made to St. John’s Lutheran Church (Peru, Ind.) or Miami County’s Area Five Agency on Aging & Community Services. Messages of condolence may be left online at www.ellersmortuary.com.