July 13, 1927-February 9, 2021

Ruth Lorraine Ferg passed away on February 9, 2021 after a long battle with Alzheimer’s Disease.

Ruth was born in the township of Little Wolf, Wisconsin on July 13, 1927 to Richard Henry August and Emelia Wilhelmena Hertzfeld Sturm. She was the third of five children and grew up on a farm in a small town. Early on, the home she lived in had no flushing toilet, and no electricity. To say she witnessed huge changes in her lifetime is an understatement! She attended a one room schoolhouse in her early years. She succeeded academically and was the Valedictorian of her high school graduating class.

Before she married, Ruth worked at a local bank and received high praise for the quality of her work. She married Eugene Edward Ferg on October 10, 1954 at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Manawa, Wisconsin. Soon after the birth of their first daughter, Lorraine, they moved to Riverside, California where Tom, Marge, Trish and Jennifer were born. They remained in Riverside until 1976, when they moved to Paradise Valley, Arizona. Throughout those years, Ruth enjoyed being a Homemaker, church volunteer, school volunteer, Girl Scout Troop Leader, and chauffeur for all her children’s school, sports and church activities. She raised five children who all graduated college, are independent, productive citizens, and love their Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. This was her greatest accomplishment. Ruth had a servant’s heart. She supported the churches she attended using her gifts of leadership, creativity, and organization. For many years she led the group that mailed out the newsletter for Christ Church Lutheran in Phoenix, Arizona. She and Gene also were part of the Braille Society, that prepared Bibles in braille for the blind and visually impaired. For well over twenty years she was the children’s leader for Bible Study Fellowship.

In 1996 Ruth and Gene moved to Sun City West, Arizona. They continued to enjoy being active and traveled across the country in their motor home visiting National Parks and interesting places throughout the United States, often visiting friends, and loved ones along the way. They loved their family and friends, but they especially enjoyed being grandparents. She and Gene traveled to spend birthdays and other special occasions with their grandchildren over the years. They were there to support with a helping hand for home painting projects, babysitting and anywhere they were needed…and of course, mom was always up for a game of Seven Card, Skip Bo or Uno. Ruth enjoyed reading the newspaper each day, clipping coupons, and finding the best deals at the local grocery and retail stores. She always did her own yard work and house cleaning and was a fantastic cook. She was known to make unique homemade decorated cakes for family birthdays. She was up for an adventure and would ride roller coasters whenever we went to amusement parks. On her birthday, at the age of 80, she skydived to recognize the occasion. While others, much younger than her, were obviously nervous…she was calm and relaxed. She was independent and unafraid. She exercised almost every day of the week. For many years she walked the hills surrounding our home in Arizona. She also exercised in our backyard pool. She continued pool exercise until the age of 92, when she entered assisted living, and a pool no longer was available.

Ruth was preceded in death by her husband, Eugene Ferg, and daughter Lorraine Johnson and son-in-law Mike Johnson. She is survived by children, Thomas Ferg, Margery Wagner (Kenneth), Patricia Jurkowski (Skee), and Jennifer Farley (John); grandchildren include: Jordan Johnson, Aaron Johnson (Nicole), Danielle Johnson Benzing (Josiah), Dan Ferg, Emma Ferg, Adrienne Wagner, Jessica Wagner, Alyssa Wagner, Tori Kellis (Morgan), Britani Jurkowski, Stephen Jurkowski, Emelia Jurkowski, and Zachary Farley; great-grandchildren include Jordan’s children-Carter and Reid Johnson, Aaron and Nicole’s children, Logan, Noah, Blake, Levi, Jude and Connor Johnson and Danielle and Josiah’s children, James and Selah.

Memorial gifts can be donated in Ruth’s honor to Dakota Boys Ranch or to Concordia University St Paul (please note in memory of Ruth Ferg so that it goes into the Lorraine Johnson Endowment fund.)