Ruth A. TenHaken

Ruth Anna Herrema TenHaken, born Sept. 17, 1928, in the Town of Ringle, daughter of Richard Herrema and Anna Hettinga Herrema, passed into the hands of our Lord Jesus Christ on March 20, 2024.

She was married to Victor W. TenHaken for 70 years, until his death in 2017.

She is survived by her children, Randall K. Ten Haken (Babette), Ann Arbor, Michigan, Vicki Ruth TenHaken (John Meshkin), Holland, Michigan, John W. Ten Haken (Marcia), Green Bay, and Ronald D. Ten Haken (Terri), Hatley. She enjoyed 12 grandchildren and 21 great-grandchildren. She is also survived by her brother, Calvin Herrema, St. Petersburg, Florida.

Her sisters, Gretchen and Betty Jane, and brother, Richard, preceded her in death.

Ruth attended Carpenter Grade School, Ringle, and graduated from Birnamwood High School. She was an office secretary prior to her marriage and lived in Birnamwood for 34 years. She was a member of New Hope Community Church for over 65 years, during which time she sang in the choir, was Circle secretary and treasurer, catechism and Sunday School teacher, Friendship Bible Coffee Guide and spiritual leader.

Ruth was a Cub Scout den mother with the Boy Scouts of America for 12 years. She was a member and past secretary of Maple Hills Ladies Golf Club in Wittenberg and an 11-year trustee of Langlade Memorial Hospital in Antigo, serving as secretary and treasurer to the board and the executive committee.

Upon moving to Florida in the 1990s, Ruth joined the First Presbyterian Church of Leesburg and later was a founding member of Solid Rock Evangelical Presbyterian Fellowship and later Grace Evangelical Presbyterian Church. In Florida, Ruth continued singing in the church choir and the Highland Lakes chorus and was a volunteer for Angel Flight for several years.

Always singing (or humming), Ruth first began singing in church at the age of 4 with her sisters. She enjoyed bowling, square-dancing, knitting, sewing (at one time Ruth sewed clothes for the entire family, including suits for the boys), reading, playing cards, and, especially, traveling. Ruth moved back to the Wausau area in the fall of 2019, where she once again was able to have an address on the road she grew up on and continue to worship with her church family at New Hope.

The family is grateful for the fantastic care and support of staff at the Wausau Primrose Retirement Community, the Wausau Aspirus Hospice staff, and the prayers and support of the members of New Hope Community Church.

Funeral services will be held on Saturday, April 20, 2024, at New Hope Community Church, 229375 County Road J, Wausau. Visitation will take place from 9-11 a.m. at the church, followed by a memorial service at 11 a.m. The Rev. Tony Lombardo will officiate. Burial will be in Forestville Cemetery in the town of Easton.

Ruth requested that in lieu of flowers, any memorials or gifts be given to New Hope Community Church.

Schmidt and Schulta Funeral Home in Birnamwood is assisting the family with arrangements. Memories and messages of support may be shared at schmidtschulta.com.