Ruth Birge

Ruth Eloise Birge, age 94, of Ripon, WI, passed away on Wednesday, January 21, 2015, at Ripon Medical Center.

Ruth was born May 3, 1920, in Fond du Lac, the daughter of Robert and Eloise (Marchant) Konow. She graduated from Rosendale primary school and received her Bachelor’s Degree at Ripon College. On May 26, 1944, Ruth married her college sweetheart, Robert Birge. He passed on February 25, 1945 while active in the military. She taught school in Fond du Lac from 1952 to 1954 and then in the Ripon School District from the fall of 1954 to 1983 when she retired. Ruth was the longest standing member of the First Congregational Church, UCC, starting her membership in 1943. She was a member of the Wisconsin Retired Educator’s Association and Green Lake Area Retired Educator’s Association.

Survivors include her relatives, Judy (Robert) DeWar of Ripon, WI, Joan (Sherry Stone) Huebl of Loveland, CO and Larry (Roxann) Huebl of Benton Harbor, MI. Ruth is further survived by Moniqua (Kenneth) Worthing of Ripon, WI and their daughter, Kaitlyn all of Ripon, WI and Melinda (Scott) Redlinger and their children, Julia and Matthew all of Muskego, WI. Ruth was preceded in death by her parents, Robert and Eloise and her husband, Robert.

Visitation for Ruth will be held on Saturday, January 31, 2015, from 10 – 11:00 am at the First Congregational Church, UCC, 220 Ransom St., Ripon, WI 54971.

Funeral Service for Ruth will be held on Saturday, January 31, 2015, at 11:00 am at the First Congregational Church, UCC in Ripon. Reverend Joanna D’Agostino will officiate. Interment will follow at Rosendale Cemetery in the Village of Rosendale. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be directed to Ripon Education Foundation, P.O. Box 395, Ripon, WI 54971.

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