BLAIRSTOWN:  Ruth Mable Rieke, a resident of Newport, Oregon since 1999, passed from this earthly life on Tuesday, July 18, 2006. Funeral Services will be held at 2:30 P.M., Wednesday, July 26, 2006 at the First Presbyterian Church in Blairstown.  Interment will be held at Pleasant Hill Cemetery in Blairstown.  Friends may call from 1 P.M. until service time at the church.  Phillips Funeral Home, Blairstown is in charge of arrangements.
     Ruth was born January 19, 1916 in Van Horne, Iowa to Clay Webster Ganfield and Emma Mable See Ganfield. She lived most of her life in Blairstown, Iowa, graduating from Blairstown High School in 1933. She attended Coe College and graduated from the University of Iowa in 1940, majoring in Speech and English. After graduation, she worked in radio and then taught in several high schools in rural Iowa. She was married on July 29, 1943 in Vallejo, California to Howard William Rieke who was serving in the US Navy during WWII. In 1945 they settled down to a life of farming in Blairstown where Ruth was a homemaker and mother to three children. She briefly taught high school English in Blairstown and enjoyed directing high school plays such as "Our Town." She also later taught remedial reading for a short time in Norway, Iowa.
     Ruth was active in the Presbyterian Church in Blairstown serving as organist for many years, as well as youth group leader and Sunday school teacher. She and Howard retired from farming and moved to Arizona in 1978 where they started their antique business, first in Prescott, then in Sedona and finally opening their store "Closet Antiques" in Cottonwood in 1982. They lived in Sedona from 1980 until moving to Cottonwood in 1991. Ruth and Howard celebrated their 50th Wedding Anniversary in 1993. Ruth loved writing poetry, painted with oil paints and watercolors and even took up sculpting.
     Her husband Howard died in 1995 and in 1999 Ruth moved to Newport, Oregon to be near her daughter. Ruth lived at Oceanview Assisted Living Facility from 2000 until just recently when health issues caused her move to Newport Rehab and Specialty Care. Ruth remained active in her church wherever she was, for as long as she was able. She was a devout Christian, lived her faith, and deeply touched the lives of many.
     Her daughter and son-in-law, Nina and John Roll of Newport, OR; her son, Roger Rieke of Clinton, Iowa; her granddaughter and grandson-in-law, Angela and David Warner of Vancouver, WA; her grandson, Rockne Roll of Newport, OR; and her great-grandchildren, Isaac, Nathan and Emma Warner of Vancouver, WA; survive her.
     Ruth was preceded in death by a sister Nina Florence Ganfield who died as an infant; her son Howard Frederick "Skipper" Rieke who died in 1960 and her husband Howard. A memorial service will be held at the Presbyterian Church in Blairstown, Iowa and burial will be at Pleasant View Cemetery there. Phillips Funeral Home is in charge of the arrangements.