Ruth Clark Obituary

Ruth Clark, age 77, of Froid, Mont., passed away on Tuesday, Nov. 6, at Trinity Hospital in Minot, N.D.  Ruth was born July 18, 1935, at the family farm in rural Cherokee County, Kan., the oldest child of Jacob and Opal Davidson.  She graduated from McCune Rural High School in 1953 and earned a Bachelor of Science degree from McPherson College in 1957.Ruth was committed to a life of church and community service and as an advocate for peace.  After college she entered Brethren Volunteer Service, serving in Refugee Camp Friedland and in the Church of the Brethren teacher/student exchange office in Kassel, Germany.  After returning home, she was a youth fieldworker for the Central Region of the Church of the Brethren.  She attended Bethany Theological Seminary in Chicago/Oak Brook, Ill., earning a Masters in Religious Education in 1964.  After a summer of working with the Grandview Church of the Brethren at Froid, Ruth served for 10 months as Director of Christian Education with the First Church of the Brethren in Roanoke, Va.

On July 10, 1965, Ruth was joined in marriage to Ralph Clark of Froid. To this union, two children were born.  She was a loving mother and grandmother, but her care for others extended well beyond her immediate family.  She was well known for her card ministry, never forgetting to send a birthday or anniversary card to her cherished family and friends and even the generations following them.

Throughout her time in Northeast Montana, she was active in the rural Grandview Church of the Brethren and later the Big Sky Church in Froid, serving as youth counselor, teacher, lay person, deaconess and on most church boards.  She held leadership roles for the Brethren Women’s Fellowship and the Big Sky Church Women. For several years, she served as a board member of the RMC’s Institute for Peace Studies in Billings.  She also served as an FHA Chapter Mother and Music Mothers’ Chairman at Medicine Lake High School, a 4-H leader for l5 years, a member of the Sheridan County 4-H Council and occasionally as a substitute teacher in the Medicine Lake and Froid schools.

In May 2009, she was recognized by the Northern Plains District of the Church of the Brethren for serving that district for more than 35 years in various roles, including several terms on the District Board, the Standing Committee of the Church of the Brethren, and as a Heifer International representative.  In addition, she served two terms on the General Board of the Church of the Brethren in Elgin, Ill.

Ruth was preceded in death by her parents, six brothers-in-law, Robert, Gerald, James and Howard Clark, Charles Beach and Glen Crumpacker; and two sisters-in-law, Ann and Gladys Clark.

She is survived by Ralph, her loving husband of 47 years; a daughter, Kristi Jamison (Billy), of Jefferson City, Mo.; a son Russell Clark (Brandi) of Bozeman, Mont.; seven grandchildren, Perry-Anthony, Ellanie and Cilicia Jamison and Caitlin, Colby, Carisa and Cash Clark.  She is also survived by three sisters, Donna (Al) Schmidt of Mission, Tex., Doris Crumpacker of McCune, Kan., and Betsy Holland of Carthage, Mo.; four brothers, Harvey (Marilyn) Davidson of Hays, Kan., Kenneth (Dorothy) Davidson of Welda, Kan., Carl (Dianna) Davidson and Tim (Nicky) Davidson of McCune, Kan.; a brother-in-law Don (Marilyn) Clark of Ramsey, Minn.; a sister-in-law Dorothy Clark of Froid, Mont.; and numerous nieces and nephews.

That Woman Is a Success…Who loves life
and lives it to the fullest;
who has discovered and shared
the strengths and talents
that are uniquely her own;
who puts her best into each task
and leaves each situation
better than she found it;
who seeks and finds
that which is beautiful
in all people…and all things;
whose heart is full of love
and warm with compassion;
who has found joy in living
and peace within herself.

~ Barbara J. Burrow