Ruby L. Johannsen, age 87, of Huron

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HURON — Ruby L. Johannsen, 87, of Huron, passed away on Monday, March 30, 2020, at Avantara Huron in Huron, South Dakota.
A Celebration of Life Memorial Service for family and friends will be held at a later date, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ruby was born on January 3, 1933 on the Iverson farm northwest of Carpenter.  The sixth child of Otto & H. Christina (Iverson) McMillan in a family that eventually included eight children.  She began her formal education in first grade at Fairview country school at the age of four.  In order to attend high school, she rented a room in Willow Lake and graduated there in 1950.
 She moved to Huron in 1950, and worked as a housekeeper/nanny first then at Woolworth’s, Fairmont Foods, Huron Public Schools, SD Dept. of Social Services, and SunQuest Healthcare Center. However, her greatest joy in employment was with the Dakotaland Museum.  She was the curator when the Haskell family donated the Pyle Family home.  Working to get the home ready for the public and hosting events there, was a joy to her.  After her retirement, she continued to serve on the museum board.
 Through mutual friends, Ruby met Jim Johannsen in 1953, when he was home on leave upon returning from serving in the US Army in Korea.  They were married on May 6, 1956. They loved to dance, square dance, ball room dance and polka fests.
 They loved history and antiques.  Along with the museum, she and her husband enjoyed antique cars and tractors and went on many antique car tours.  They were members of the Sioux Falls Horseless Carriage Club since 1958.  She also enjoyed genealogy and was a member of the Beadle County Genealogy Group of South Dakota.
 She loved to sew.  She sewed her own wedding dress and those of her daughters.  She made countless mission quilts, and children’s quilts donated to Sanford Children’s hospital.  She was a member of the Huron Area Quilt Guild.  In 2019, she was nominated for the Spirit of Dakota Award for her work in the community.
 She was a 60-year member of Mt. Calvary Lutheran Church and the Lutheran Women’s Missionary League.  She served on many committees, including the building committee for the fellowship hall addition.  She also served many weddings and funerals and made numerous banners for the sanctuary and for baptism momentos.
 Left to mourn her passing are her daughters, Sandra (Dennis) Schilling and Julie (Roger) Kropuenske; her grandchildren, Christina (Justin) Siemsen and Brandon (Gretchen) Schilling; and great-grandchildren, A. J. and Addison Siemsen and Hudson, Porter and Landry Schilling;  brothers, Eugene (Lois) McMillan, Keith (Shirley) McMillan; and sister-in-law, Genevieve McMillan; and nieces, nephews, and cousins, and double cousins, because two of her father’s sisters married two of her mother’s brothers.
 She was preceded in death by her parents; her husband, Jim in 1995; brothers, Charles (Bud), Irwin and Lyle; and sisters, Florence Batien and Vivian Jansen Dish.
Visit www.welterfuneralhome.com to sign the online guestbook.
Paid Obituary