Mary Ruth Baldus Fairmont, Minn.

Mary Ruth Baldus, 95, of Fairmont, Minn., formerly of Carroll, died April 20, 2014, at Mayo Health Systems in Fairmont, Minn.

Mass of Christian Burial was 10:30 a.m. Friday, April 25, at Holy Spirit Church in Carroll. The Revs. Timothy Johnson, Sunni Dominic and Brian Hughes officiated. Interment was in Mount Olivet Cemetery in Carroll. Ohde Twit Funeral Home, Carroll, was in charge of arrangements. Memorials may be given to Kuemper Catholic Schools, 116 S. East St., Carroll, IA 51401. Online condolences may be left at www.ohdefuneralhome.com.

Mary Ruth Olson, daughter of Ida (Eike) and Sam G. Olson, was born Jan. 30, 1919, on a farm in the bluffs above the Mississippi River near DeSoto, Wis.

Mary Ruth left home to attend high school in LaCrosse, Wis., and then earned her Bachelor of Arts degree from Luther College in Decorah.

Mary Ruth’s first teaching position was in Riceville, where she taught junior and senior English and Latin and coached the junior and senior class plays. During WWII, she was high school principal.

In 1948, Mary Ruth married Francis Baldus, and they moved to Sibley.

Mary Ruth stayed home with her seven children until the family moved to Carroll in 1965. She taught junior high English at Holy Spirit School, retiring in 1982.

Mary Ruth volunteered many years at Holy Spirit and in the Carroll community, before moving to Goldfinch Estates in Fairmont, Minn., in 2007.

Mary Ruth is survived by her children, Mary (Henry Blake) of Minnetonka, Minn., Donald of Rochester, Minn., James (Amy Dougherty) of Mound, Minn., David (Remy) of Ames, Phillip (Lynn) of Saint Ansgar, Jeffrey of Sioux City and Paul (Deb) of Fairmont, Minn.; grandchildren, Jenna, Sam and Alex Blake, Nina (Todd Christianson), Rory Bork, Dustin and Joshua Baldus and Theo and Kira Baldus; great-grandchildren, Addelay, Bennett and Cullen Christianson; sister Sue Starshak of Chicago, Ill.; brother John Olson of Denver, Colo.; sisters-in-law, Elaine Olson of Grove, Okla., Norma Olson of Viroqua, Wis., Joanne Baldus of Story City and Dorothy Hammond of Ames; and many nieces and nephews.

Mary Ruth was preceded in death by her parents, five siblings and husband.