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Obituaries » Phyllis Kingery Ruff

Phyllis Kingery Ruff

July 1, 1933 - August 3, 2020

Service Date: August 12, 2020

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Phyllis Kingery Ruff, 87, passed away August 3, 2020. A visitation will be held 9:30-11:00 a.m., Wednesday, August 12th at Ankeny Memorial Funeral Home (4208 N Ankeny Blvd). A Memorial Service will follow at 11:00 a.m., also at the funeral home.
Phyllis Ann Kingery Ruff was born on the Kingery family century farm in Mt Etna, IA on July 1, 1933. She was the first child for Everett and Anna (McCune) Kingery. She went to school and graduated from Corning High School with the class of 1951. Phyllis completed her 4-year bachelor in 3 years at McPherson College, McPherson, KS. She studied to be a school teacher like her mother. Phyllis volunteered with Brethren Volunteer Services when she finished college. She eventually began teaching in Omaha, Nebraska where she taught kindergarten until she retired from teaching to relocate with Cliff.
Phyllis was active in her church in Council Bluffs, Iowa. She enjoyed going to the annual conference when the opportunity was made available. She met many friends through her faith. She met her husband while attending church and she and Cliff Ruff were married on July 29, 1977. When she retired from teaching to accompany Cliff as he was assigned to another church in a different city, Phyllis became the pastor’s wife and embraced the new area with new friends and ideas.
Phyllis was the secretary for standing committee to the Church of the Brethren general board. She held the office for multiple terms. She got to do some traveling with this job assignment. She always kept track of every detail and she was a great advisor for different committees. She was always bringing up deep discussions about different topics. She loved to make you think outside the box. Phyllis lived to learn. Everything she did was to learn something. Reading was her passion. She would read and then read some more. She loved book discussions.
One of her favorite things to do was to travel. Traveling was also a time to learn and live. She loved to drive to destinations and see many tourist attractions along the way. She took some of her family with her on her travels too. She made many memories for many people and generations in her life. She was a great role model for others. She didn’t believe in gossip or spreading rumors. Her glass was always half full. If she spoke of someone, it was always with a positive attitude.
Phyllis is survived by her husband, Cliff Ruff of Altoona, Iowa. Cliff’s son Brad Ruff of Omaha, NE. Her sister, Mary Lou and husband Glen Roberts of Corning, Iowa. Throughout her life, Phyllis was blessed with biological and step grandkids, nieces, nephews, and cousins

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  • Altoona, Iowa

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