Ruth Eberhart

Ruth B. Eberhart, 103, of Aberdeen, SD, died Wednesday, January 29, 2025, at Avera St. Luke’s Hospital in Aberdeen.

Ruth B. Eberhart was born May 20, 1921, in rural Eureka, SD, to Henry and Christina (Heckel) Eberhart. She attended a country school through the eighth grade in Campbell County. She then attended Eureka High School. She helped with milking on the farm and worked hard, outdoors and in. She once said that the key to a long life was hard work, and she knew hard work. She lived in a sod house until the family moved to Aberdeen in 1945.

In Aberdeen, Ruth worked retail jobs, clerking for various establishments including a bakery and Taco Johns, and finally as a checker at Econofoods supermarket. While working, she also cared for her parents. After her mother died in 1975, she cared for her father until his death in 1991. Later, she cared for her sisters, Violet and Lillian, until their deaths.

She visited the Holy Land with her sisters in 1974. She was a member of the Evangelical United Brethren Church in Aberdeen, which became Faith United Methodist in the late 1960's, and served on several committees, including the education committee. She served as evening circle president of United Methodist Women and was a longtime member.

Even after retiring, she kept working hard, continuing service in the church and volunteering for the Salvation Army where she filled backpacks for kids and served in the kitchen. She worked at Volunteers of America as well. She loved animals and children, had a wry wit and a strong faith.

Grateful for having shared Ruth’s life are her nieces and nephew: Paul (Sandra) Eberhart, Susan (Robert) Guess, Peggy Kniss, Amy Martin; and many great and great-nieces and nephews.

Preceding her in death are her parents: Henry and Christina Eberhart; one brother: William Eberhart; and two sisters Lillian Eberhart and Violet Eberhart.

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