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Ruth L. Ploetz, age 73 of Boy River, MN passed away on Friday August 16, 2019 at Abbott Northwestern Hospital in Minneapolis, MN. Ruth was born June 1946 to Thomas Arthur and Florence Louise in La Crosse, Wisconsin. She was raised on a beautiful farm just under Cushion's Peak in the Root River Valley. She graduated from Houston High School in 1964. Ruth was united in marriage to Ken on December 28, 1968. Ken and Ruth moved to a farm near Utica raising cattle and crops of grain. The family then moved to Big Boy Lake after fishing the lake for a number of years and purchased Arrowhead Resort. During the farm & resort years, Ruth also worked as a nurse at the University of Minnesota, St. Mary's Hospital in Rochester, St. Charles Nursing Home, and Ah-Gwah-Ching State Hospital. She had a beautiful life. She shared her beauty every day with her family, her friends and all who encountered her kind words and smile.

Ruth was always a caregiver whether on the job nursing or caring for her three daughters, her grandchildren and later her husband during his cancer battle. She enjoyed her summer vegetable garden picking beans, cucumbers, beets and raising the best potatoes. She was proud of her Dahlias. She was a fantastic cook. She would decorate her table elaborately for the holidays and special occasions. She enjoyed multiple trips to Mexico, Canada and out west. She enjoyed reading. She loved her dogs, German Shepherds and Dachshunds, and you could often see the dogs right next to her knowing who the good cook was. She liked mowing her lawn with the John Deere tractors, a farmer's wife to the core. She also liked feeding wild birds and felt at home in the lovely northwoods and lakes.

Ruth is preceded in death by her parents, and husband Kenneth E. Ploetz.

She is survived by three daughters: Amy (Craig) Johnson of Longville, MN, Leslie (Joseph) Letson of Savage, MN, and Jennifer (Todd) Peterson of Grand Rapids, MN; seven grandchildren: Brady, Spencer, Alejandro, Talon, Heidi, Trevor, and Afton; her brother Bill of Fifty Lakes, MN and brother Donald of Dresbach, MN; and her nieces and nephews.

A celebration of Ruth's life will be held on Sunday, September 8, 2019, from 1 to 3 p.m. at her home. Interment will be held privately at the Minnesota State Veterans Cemetery, Little Falls.[[In-content Ad]]

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