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In Memory Of
Ruth E. Mcneal
Ruth E. Mcneal
d. Feb 11, 2023
Ruth E. McNeal (93) of Fort Collins passed away peacefully at home on February 11, 2023.
Ruth was born September 5, 1930 to Arthur and Alma (Arensdorf) Nicholson in Sutherland, Nebraska. Fourth of five children, Ruth grew up during the Great Depression on a sandhills farm, homesteaded by her grandmother north of Sutherland.
Ruth was class valedictorian at Sutherland High School and went on to Kearney Teachers College. After teaching in one-room schoolhouses on the prairie for several years, Ruth moved, by herself, to the big city of Denver in 1952 where she went to work for the Denver Public Schools as a librarian.
Ruth met Charles W. McNeal while skiing in Leadville, CO and they were married in 1956. Children Chuck and Andrea were born in 1958 and 1960. After divorcing in 1970, living in Lakewood, Ruth went on to a successful career with U.S. Fish and Wildlife Dept. in Denver and later in Ft. Collins, and retired from Colorado State University in 1999. Ruth spent her retirement years happily watching and helping her grandkids grow up, sewing "Mooseberry" stuffed animals with Andrea, and tending to her beloved plants and flowers.
Ruth was preceded in death by her parents, brothers Bob and Charlie, sister Myrtle and followed by brother Don in 2024.
Ruth is survived by her son Chuck (Terry) of Ft. Collins, daughter Andrea of Westcliffe, CO, Grandchildren Phillip, Anna and John, and great grandchildren Jackson, Wesley, Leah and Naomi, all of Ft. Collins.
At Ruth's request there was no service and her ashes were scattered in a meadow of wildflowers in her beloved Colorado mountains.
Ruth was born September 5, 1930 to Arthur and Alma (Arensdorf) Nicholson in Sutherland, Nebraska. Fourth of five children, Ruth grew up during the Great Depression on a sandhills farm, homesteaded by her grandmother north of Sutherland.
Ruth was class valedictorian at Sutherland High School and went on to Kearney Teachers College. After teaching in one-room schoolhouses on the prairie for several years, Ruth moved, by herself, to the big city of Denver in 1952 where she went to work for the Denver Public Schools as a librarian.
Ruth met Charles W. McNeal while skiing in Leadville, CO and they were married in 1956. Children Chuck and Andrea were born in 1958 and 1960. After divorcing in 1970, living in Lakewood, Ruth went on to a successful career with U.S. Fish and Wildlife Dept. in Denver and later in Ft. Collins, and retired from Colorado State University in 1999. Ruth spent her retirement years happily watching and helping her grandkids grow up, sewing "Mooseberry" stuffed animals with Andrea, and tending to her beloved plants and flowers.
Ruth was preceded in death by her parents, brothers Bob and Charlie, sister Myrtle and followed by brother Don in 2024.
Ruth is survived by her son Chuck (Terry) of Ft. Collins, daughter Andrea of Westcliffe, CO, Grandchildren Phillip, Anna and John, and great grandchildren Jackson, Wesley, Leah and Naomi, all of Ft. Collins.
At Ruth's request there was no service and her ashes were scattered in a meadow of wildflowers in her beloved Colorado mountains.
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