Here is Ruth's Obituary for those who knew her:
Ruth Vikner Gamelin was born May 22, 1915, on Jigongshan, Henan, China, to David W. and Lily Callerstrom Vikner during their language training for missionary work. Except for furloughs in the midwest in 1921-22 and 1928-30, she attended boarding school on Jigongshan and experienced turbulent times in China, including evacuation of her school three times before invading armies and capture of her family by Communists in 1932. Returning to the states for college in 1933, she graduated from Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, Minnesota, in 1937, then taught biology and English in Benson, Minnesota, until her marriage to Francis C. Gamelin in First Lutheran Church, St. Paul, Minnesota, on October 8, 1938.
She devoted her life to homemaking in St. Peter and Robbinsdale MN, Leonia NJ, Rock Island IL, and University City MO, raising five sons and a daughter and extending hospitality frequently to family and friends. She was an able household manager and seamstress, a prolific letter-writer, and a diarist from 1930 until her vision failed in 2006. She enjoyed traveling throughout the United States and many places in Europe, South America, the Middle East, and Asia, including two trips around the world. She was devoted to women's work in her congregation and Church World Relief. In 2006 she and her husband moved to Chelan WA to be near their daughter, Lili, and her husband, R. Joseph Wesley.
Ruth died at Regency Manor in Chelan WA on May 31, 2011 at age 96. She is survived by her husband Francis, daughter Lili, sons Theodore of Issaquah WA, Daniel of Carlsbad CA, Timothy of Jamestown NC, Steven of Chelan WA, Quentin of Tampa FL, and their wives and 14 children and 24 great grandchildren.
A memorial service for her will be held at Lake Chelan Lutheran Church at 11:00 am Saturday, June 11, with later interment at Resurrection Cemetery in St. Peter, Minnesota. In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts to a local congregation or Gustavus Adolphus College are welcome.
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Rev. Linda Anderson-Little
St. Mark's Lutheran Church
6325 Clayton Road
St. Louis, MO 63117
314.721.6974 (w)
314.581.6365 (cell)
www.stmarkselca.com
