Memorials › Ruth Irene Sawyer Ballou
Ruth Irene Sawyer Ballou
6 Nov 1917 – 14 Apr 2012
| Birth | 6 Nov 1917 |
| Death | 14 Apr 2012 |
| Cemetery | Olin Cemetery Olin , Jones County , Iowa , USA |
| Added by | Lynn Schneider on 21 Apr 2012 |
| FaG | https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/88889876 |
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Daughter of Gordon & Belle Plummer Sawyer Visitation 4 to 7 p.m. Wednesday April 18, 2012 at Lahey Funeral Home, Olin, Iowa. Funeral Service 11:00 a.m. Thursday April 19, 2012 at Olin Community United Methodist Church, Olin, Iowa. Interment Thursday April 19, 2012 at Olin Cemetery, Olin, Iowa. Ruth Irene Sawyer was born November 6, 1917 near Morley, Iowa, to Gordon and Belle (Plummer) Sawyer. She began school at Hazel Hill located one mile south of her parent's farm. Beginning in second grade she attended and graduated from Morley High School in 1935. There she played side center in basketball, and was active in vocal music groups. Irene and Merle Ballou were married April 24, 1937 at the Methodist parsonage in Anamosa and lived their entire married life in Olin or on the farm they purchased west of Olin in 1952. Following Merle's death on April 14, 2000, Irene continued to live on the farm until declining health prompted her move to Pennington Square in April of 2010 and subsequently to Monticello Nursing and Rehab. Irene was always active in her children's lives, serving as a Cub Scout den mother and 4-H leader of the Olin Ship A-Hoy in the early 1940's and again in the 1960's. Additionally, she served for several years as a County 4-H Committee woman. An avid reader, Irene served as librarian at the Olin Library from 1970 to 1983. She was an active member of the Olin United Methodist Church and UMW, a 50 year member of the Order of Eastern Star, Hiawatha Chapter No. 394, Past Matrons, Twentieth Century Club and Westside Club. Irene enjoyed spending a week each summer in Minnesota surrounded by her family, attending the sports and musical activities of her grandchildren and great grandchildren, listening to the Iowa Hawkeyes on radio before TV and then watching the Hawkeyes and Cubs. She also enjoyed playing cards. Irene is survived by 2 daughters, Linda Rogers and husband Ronald & Pamela Patrick and husband Kyle, both of Cedar Rapids; 2 sons, James Ballou and wife Lana of Olin, & Steven Ballou and wife Vicki of Wyoming; 8 grandchildren, Dawn (Roger) Bouzek, Stephanie (Bryan) Fickel, Rhonda (Tom) Jackson, Jaimie (Chris) Bowser, Christopher (Kari) Ballou, Travis (Kelly) Ballou, Sarah (Tim) Sines and Jennipher (Jason) Thielman; and 14 great grandchildren, Drake, Jordan and Blaze Bouzek, Jack and Ellery Fickel, Taylor and Lydia Jackson, Annaliese and Emerson Bowser, Cayden and Dane Ballou, Adam and Dylan Sines and Zach Thielman. She was preceded in death by her husband Merle, granddaughter Debra Rogers, and great granddaughter Sydney Jackson. Irene Ballou, 94, formerly of Olin, died Saturday, April 14, 2012, at Monticello Nursing & Rehab in Monticello, following a brief illness.
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