The Free Press, Mankato, MN

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July 19, 2012

Ruth Ann Noetzel

—   Ruth Ann Noetzel, 72, of Fruitland, died on Wednesday, July 18, 2012, at her home, surrounded by her loving family.

  Funeral Mass will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Monday, July 23, 2012, at the St. Mathias Church, 215 West Eighth Street.  The Reverend Joseph Sia will officiate.  A time of food and fellowship will be held at Gannon Hall following the mass. Private burial will take place in St. Marys Cemetery.

  A Rosary Prayer Service will be held at 10:30 a.m. on Monday, July 23, 2012, at the church.  Memorials may be made to the Ss Mary and Mathias Church Choir.  The Ralph J. Wittich-Riley-Freers Funeral Home is in charge of the arrangements. Online condolences:  www.wittichfuneralhome.com

  Ruth was born on September 8, 1939, in Albert Lea, Minnesota, the daughter of Gail and Thelma Luff Lumberg.  She married Herbert N. Noetzel on September 5, 1959, in Waseca, Minnesota.

  Ruth worked for Wal-Mart as a part of the management team that opened the Muscatine Wal-Mart store.  She was the first female store manager in Minnesota creating the way for future female management.  Ruth retired from Wal-Mart to fulfill a life-long goal to return to college. She graduated from Mankato State University Summa Cum Laude and was a member of the Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society.  She was then employed with Masterpiece Studios in Mankato before moving back to Muscatine to live near her greatest love, her family. She enjoyed the choir as a member of the Ss. Mary and Mathias Parish and volunteered with the Trinity Hospital Auxiliary.

  Ruth was a gifted seamstress, loved to read, and authored many heartfelt stories and poems.  Her love for her family echoed in the laughter of her children and grandchildren, and in the sweet sounds and hugs of her great-grandchildren.  She was blessed to see pictures of great-grandchild number twelve six days before her death and eagerly awaited number thirteen due this year.

  Those left to honor her memory include her husband of over 52 years, Herbert N. Noetzel of Fruitland; four children: Julie Lear and husband, Randy, of Muscatine, Steve Noetzel and wife, Jody, of Rogers, Arkansas, Mary Hayenga and husband, Tom, of Estherville, and Laura Muffy Bartelt and husband, Neil, of Fruitland; 12 grandchildren, 12 great-grandchildren; and three sisters, Mary Ragan and Sally Handberg, both of Arizona, and Kathy Miller of Washington.

  She was preceded in death by her parents.

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