Ruth Lois Diercks, 73, Albert Lea
Published 12:00 am Wednesday, September 3, 2003
Funeral services for Ruth Lois Diercks, age 73, of Albert Lea will be held at 10:30 a.m. Thursday, Sept. 4, at Calvary Baptist Church. The Rev. Douglas Smither will officiate. Interment will be in Graceland Cemetery. Visitation will be 4-8 p.m. today, Sept. 3, at Bayview/Freeborn Funeral Home, and one hour prior to the services at the church.
Lois died Sunday, Aug. 31, 2003, at Thorne Crest North.
Ruth Lois Diercks was born July 10, 1930, to Walter and Mildred (Johnson) Needham in Mason City, Iowa. She graduated from Mason City High School in 1948 and attended one year of junior college. On June 12, 1949, Lois was united in marriage to Wayne Diercks in Mason City. The couple lived in Albert Lea from 1965-1986 before moving to Tomah, Wis. They returned to Albert Lea in 1989. Lois was a baker in the cafeteria at Brookside School, retiring in 1977. She was a member of Calvary Baptist Church, the Ruth Circle and American Baptist Women’s Society. Lois was a volunteer in crafts at Thorne Crest and a member of the Albert Lea Lois Club.
Survivors include her husband, Wayne of Albert Lea; sons: Alan and wife Ardyth of Plantation, Fla., and Gregory and partner Jay Lenn of Chicago, Ill.; grandson, Andrew of Austin, Texas; granddaughter, Kristin of Tacoma, Wash.; sister, Judith and husband Ray Kenyon of Tama, Iowa; brother, John and wife Lynda Needham of Greensboro, N.C.; sister-in-law, Mary Ann Needham of Emmetsburg, Iowa; brother-in-law, Ralph and wife Virginia Diercks of Mason City; and many nieces, nephews, aunts and cousins.
Lois was preceded in death by her parents and a brother, Gerald Needham.
Lois was the love of her husband’s life and the grandchildren were her pride and joy. She will be missed by many people.