Funeral services for Ruth Katus, age 94, of Lemmon, SD, will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Wednesday, September 4, 2019 at the Christ Evangelical Lutheran Church in Morristown, SD, with Rev. Adam Pilarski officiating.  Burial will be held at 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday afternoon at the Watauga Cemetery in Watauga, SD.

Ruth Lillian Gronlund was born on January 26, 1925, to Hans and Anna (Halvorson) Gronlund on the family farm north of Watauga, SD.  She was baptized on March 29, 1925 in a Lutheran Church in Watauga and confirmed on June 18, 1939, in a Lutheran Church in Morristown, SD.

Ruth attended the Silent Butte Country School through the eighth grade and graduated from McIntosh High School in 1943.  After attending Northern State Teacher's College in Aberdeen, SD, she received her teaching certificate.  She then taught the Silent Butte School that she attended, for two years, and later after she married, she taught at a country school northwest of McIntosh, SD, for two years.

At a dance in the Watauga Town Hall, she met her future husband, Paul Katus.  They were married at Christ Lutheran Church in Morristown, SD, on June 16, 1946.

They rented a farm south of Morristown for four years and then rented one near Mahto, SD, for three years.  In 1954 they purchased a farm northwest of McIntosh, which they operated until 1984.  They purchased a hobby farm in North Lemmon where they lived until 2003 and then moved into a HUD apartment where Ruth resided until entering the Five Counties Nursing Home in Lemmon.

Ruth was a side by side helper on the farms and enjoyed reading, writing letters, refinishing old furniture and growing flowers.

Ruth passed away suddenly on Saturday, August 31, 2019 at the West River Regional Medical Center in Hettinger, ND.

She is survived by one sister-in-law, Jean Dirk, Spearfish, SD; and several special nieces and nephews.

Ruth was preceded in death by her parents; her husband, Paul in 2006; two brothers, Arne and Einar; one sister and brother-in-law, Ethel and Wendell Bubbers; one nephew and two great nephews.

Visitation will be from 3:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. followed by a family service at 7:00 p.m. all on Tuesday, September 3, 2019 at the Evanson Jensen Funeral Home in Lemmon, SD.