Ruth Johnette Bjonerud

Monday, March 19, 2018 1:34 pm

Ruth Johnette Bjonerud, of Calmar, daughter of Edna (née Falnes) and Robert Bjonerud, died peacefully Sunday, March 11, 2018, at the Aase Haugen Home in Decorah. Services are at 11 a.m., Tuesday, March 20, at Calmar Lutheran Church in Calmar, with Pastor Anita Nuetzman officiating. Organist is Cynthia Viise. Hymns are “O God Our Help,” “Children of the Heavenly Father,” “Precious Lord” and “Be Thou My Vision. Interment is at Calmar Lutheran Cemetery, Calmar. Casket bearers are Edwin Miller, Andrew Mueller, John Viise and Lars Viise. Arrangements are being handled by Schluter – Balik Funeral Home, Decorah.

Ruth was born Jan. 16, 1934, at the Decorah Hospital, and was baptized Feb. 18, 1934, at Calmar Lutheran Church by Reverend H. A. Preus. She attended Conover School, graduated from Calmar High School, and attended Luther College in Decorah.

Despite suffering the lasting effects of childhood scarlet fever and rheumatic fever, Ruth led an independent life. In her early 20s, she traveled to Colorado with a friend and remained there, finding work and making a career in Denver at the Finance Office of the Department of the Air Force. After her father, Robert Bjonerud, died in 1987, Ruth took early retirement and moved back to Calmar to help and care for her mother, Edna Bjonerud, on the family farm.

Ruth embraced life for its possibilities, not its difficulties. She traveled extensively throughout the United States and to Norway. She was an avid and accomplished practitioner of handcrafts, including embroidery, cross-stitch, Klostersom, rug-hooking, and weaving. A multitude of embroidered pillowcases, Klostersom wall-hangings, and table runners testify to the care and skill that Ruth invested in her handwork.

Ruth was a faithful and active member of her home congregation, Calmar Lutheran Church. She served for four years as the president of the Calmar Lutheran chapter of WELCA (Women of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America). Always proud of her Norwegian roots, she was a lifetime member of the Norwegian-American Museum (Vesterheim) in Decorah, where she is remembered well for taking courses in cooking and handcrafts and working as a volunteer in the museum gift store.

Her nieces and nephew and their families will remember her fondly for her exceptional positivity and resilience, her love of animals, and the pride she took in her family, her church, her community, and her heritage.

She is survived by her nieces: Lina Marie Miller (Edwin) of Independence, Kan.; Diane Edna Viise (Cynthia) of Elmhurst, Ill.; Michelle Ruth Viise of Somerville, Mass.; and her nephew, John Robert Viise (Laura). She is mourned by her 10 grandnieces and grandnephews: Kirsten and Anna Miller; Peter, Andrew, James and Emily Mueller; and Gustav, Lars, Darrell and Johann Viise. Ruth is also mourned by her brother-in-law, Michael G. Viise of Decorah.

Ruth was preceded in death by her parents and her sister, Neva Maye (née Bjonerud) Viise.

In lieu of flowers memorials may be sent to Calmar Lutheran Church, Winneshiek County Public Health (Attn: Krista VandenBrink) and Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum.