Ruth Barfknecht

Hastings resident Ruth (Leonhardt) Barfknecht, 92, passed away Sunday, January 9, 2022, at her home.

Visitation will be 1-5 p.m. Thursday and Prayer Service and visitation will be Noon-2 p.m. Friday, January 14, at Butler Volland Chapel in Hastings with Pastor Tom Murray officiating with burial to follow at Parkview Cemetery in Hastings. Memorials may be given to the family for a memorial to be established at a later date.

Ruth was born September 26, 1929, on the family farm near Hansen, Adams County, NE to Jacob and Marie (Leonhardt) Leonhardt. She attended school in Hansen, NE grades one through nine, and then Hastings Senior High School where she graduated with the Class of 1947. Ruth also acquired further education at Hastings College. She married Robert “Bob” Barfknecht at the New York Avenue Congregational Church in Hastings, NE on May 4, 1952.

The couple lived in Hastings since Bob was discharged from the U.S. Army in the fall of 1952. Ruth held clerical jobs with the City of Hastings, City Clerk, and Utilities offices before she was married. She was a stay-at-home mother and homemaker while her children were growing up. After her children were grown, she had jobs with Hastings Utilities and with the Hastings Public School system as a paraprofessional, until she retired.

Ruth was associated with many church women’s groups. She was a founding member of the American Society of Germans from Russia and President of its Central Nebraska Chapter. Ruth was a longtime member of the Adams County Genealogical Society and the Adams County Historical Society. She had several articles printed in magazines and papers such as “Good Old Days” and the Grand Island Independent’s “Silver Salute.”

Ruth was preceded in death by her parents; daughter, Sue; and all of her siblings, Jake, Frieda, Henry, John, Helen, Edna, and Bill.

SURVIVORS:
Husband:
Bob Barfknecht
Children:
Mark
Maryann
Lois
Bonnie
Grandchildren:
15
Many Great-Grandchildren, relatives, and friends