Ruth Edlund

Ruth Edlund, 88, of Ashby, MN, passed away peacefully on March 10, 2024. A visitation will be held Thursday, March 21, 2024, from 5 to 8 pm at Glende-Nilson Funeral Home in Evansville, with a time of remembrance starting at 7 pm. A Celebration of Life will be held on Friday, March 22, 2024, at Grue Lutheran Church in rural Ashby at 11 am, with committal following at Eagle Lake Free Cemetery

After high school, she attended nurses training at Deaconess in Minneapolis, and then Lutheran Brethren Bible College in Fergus Falls, where she served as Dean of Women and the school nurse while she studied.

Ruth accepted the call to the mission field and was commissioned in August of 1959. She learned to speak French while in living in Paris, France before deploying to her mission station in Yagoua, Cameroun. She worked as a missionary nurse there for six years.  

Upon her return, she worked as a nurse at Douglas County Hospital in Alexandria, MN.  While taking care of a patient, she was introduced to Vernon Edlund, her patient’s bachelor son. A courtship soon began and the couple were wed on October 4, 1969.  They began their life together at their place in rural Ashby. Three children followed, with their first, Robert, born on their first anniversary.

Family, her new mission field, filled her life. A loving wife and home maker, she also took care of the books and management of the family manufacturing business. She and Vernon were 4-H leaders and she was an active member of the women’s ministry and quilting groups of her church. She was also a dedicated Sunday school and confirmation teacher and enjoyed singing in the choir and sewing beautiful banners for the sanctuary.  As Vernon’s health deteriorated, she exemplified what love is like to her children, nursing and caring for him until his passing in November of 1999.

A new chapter in her life began when she welcomed her first grandchild.  Gramma Ruth’s house was a frequent destination, where one would be treated to all sorts of delicacies.  She was famous for her chocolate chip cookies, lefse and of course her homemade buns, which she used on occasion to barter for jobs she needed done around the place. She was a quilter, cutting and sewing thousands of blocks together over the years for use as gifts to her friends, family and those in need of a warm quilt.

As she got older, and her memory could no longer be relied upon, she moved to the assisted living facility in Ashby. She kept busy quilting for a time, and then turned to puzzles. She continued her lifelong ministry of letter writing and reminded her children that she “prayed for [them] daily” as they said their goodbyes.

Ruth is survived by son Robert (Kelly) Edlund (Connor and Casey); daughter Melissa (Matthew) Jacobson (Lance, Elise and Sheldon); and son Rodney (Angie) Edlund (Ella, Jack, Hank and Lily); sister Doris (Dave) Walter and sister Arlys (Cornell) Svaren, many nieces and nephews and great nieces and nephews.

She was preceded in death by her husband Vernon Edlund, sisters Eleanor Larson and Orpha Raun, brothers in law Loren Larson and Don Raun as well as brother and sister in laws from Vernon’s family.

The family would like to thank the staff of Ashby Living Center. Mom had only good things to say about you and we could see how much you loved our mom. Also, thanks to Hospice of Douglas County and nurse Jen, who helped make mom’s last days comfortable and dignified.

Blessed be the memory of Ruth Elaine Edlund.