Ruth Louise Morgan

Ruth L. Morgan, 100, of Chariton, Iowa passed away on June 2, 2022. Services will be held on Monday, June 13, 2022, at 10:30 a.m. at the Pierschbacher Funeral Home in Chariton, Iowa. Family will receive friends on Sunday, June 12, 2022, from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. at the funeral home. Memorials may be made in Ruth's honor to the Lucas County Historical Society.

The service will be livestreamed through the following link: https://my.gather.app/remember/ruth-morgan-2022

Ruth was born on July 2, 1921, to Glen and Margaret Holmes in Chariton Iowa. She was the oldest of her siblings; Howard, Eloise, Martha and Doris. She was a bright and happy child who enjoyed spending time at her grandparents’ farm, the Larkin Dairy. Ruth played lots of cards and games at her other grandmother Holmes house in Chariton. In high school she was active in mixed chorus and dance performances. She also participated in speech, school plays and wrote for the school newspaper. Early dates with her future husband, Edwin Morgan, were big band dances at the Chariton Gun Club on West Lake in the summer of 1939.

Ruth and Ed both graduated from Chariton Junior College with normal-school teaching degrees. As WWll began, Ed was drafted into the army and sent to Albuquerque, NM for basic training. Ruth joined him and they were married there on Nov. 14, 1942. Ruth was able to find office work in Albuquerque and again later when they were transferred to Palm Springs, CA. When Ed was sent to Germany she returned to Chariton and worked at Yocom Hospital. Ed came home in 1946 and finished his teaching degree at Parson’s college in Fairfield. Ruth was certified to teach Kindergarten and they both taught for a couple of years in Kalona, Ia.

Tom was born in 1950 in Chariton and then the family moved to Keosauqua where Susan was born in 1953. Ed taught in Keosauqua until a better teaching/coaching job came up and they moved to Boone in 1958. Bill was born in 1960. Ruth made friends easily and soon became part of the community with children’s activities, PTA, the Presbyterian Church, bridge club, P.E.O. sisterhood, faculty wives, sewing sisters and other groups. Family “get-togethers”, holiday dinners, picnics and camping adventures with her sisters, Martha and Doris, and their families were always lots of fun. Large family reunions brought together her mother, sisters, some of her aunts, uncles and many cousins. Being the oldest of her generation, Ruth was always the reliable keeper of the family history.

Ruth was smart, organized and practical and had the ability to make a dollar stretch to take care of her family. As her children grew out of school, she was asked to accept the secretary position at Lowell elementary school and enjoyed that for many years until Ed retired from teaching science at Boone high school. She enjoyed being involved as her family grew through marriages and grandchildren. Ruth and Ed were able to do some camping and traveling until his death in 1998.

Ruth moved back to Chariton in 2002 and became reacquainted with this community. The Presbyterian Church, the P.E.O. Sisterhood, Book club, Women’s club, Bridge club, and volunteer work at the Senior Center enjoyed her cheerful service and caring nature. She liked to be around other people and was genuinely interested in them. She often greeted others with a question like, “Well, what is going on in your life today?” and she listened and seemed to remember almost everything.

She was particularly concerned about her children, grandchildren and great -grandchildren and wanted to share in as much of their lives as she could. She was encouraging and had faith that they will all find their way in the world. Left to cherish her memory are her sister, Doris McNeilly; son, Tom Morgan (Agnes); daughter-in-law, Wendy Morgan; daughter, Susan (Bill) Baer; son, Bill (Alaina) Morgan; grandchildren: Kristin (Chad) Johnson, Charlie (Khloe) Morgan, Scott Baer, Jesse Morgan, Dan (Hadley) Morgan, and Joe (Monica) Morgan; and great-grandchildren: Natalie and Kaylee Johnson, Hadley and Aislinn Morgan, Evan and Elena Morgan, Brooklyn Morgan, and Malia Morgan. She will also be missed by her cousins, nieces, nephews, and many dear friends.

Ruth was preceded in death by her parents, Margaret and Glen Holmes; husband, Edwin Morgan; and siblings: Howard Holmes, Eloise Threlkeld, and Martha Baker.