Mostly Cloudy, 30° F
(Sept. 14, 1919 - March 1, 2011)
Ruth Marie Preston Buchholz, 91, of Cody, died peacefully on March 1, 2011 at West Park Long Term Care Center surrounded by her family.
She was born Sept. 14, 1919 in Burchard, Neb. to Fred H. and Albina Kamen Preston. Following the death of her mother at age 5, she lived with relatives until her father remarried when she was nine years old. She was one of a family of nine children.
Ruth graduated from Fairbury High School in Fairbury, Neb. in 1938. She married Clarence Frank Buchholz in Lincoln, Neb. in 1941. Clarence and Ruth lived on the West Coast while Clarence served in the Coast Guard during World War II. In 1948, they moved to Heart Mountain after drawing one of 21 homestead farm units, taking land out of sagebrush and turning it into a successful family farm. Ruth lived on the family farm until 2008.
Ruth was a member of Trinity Lutheran Church in Cody for more than 60 years and faithfully attended Bible Study Fellowship for many years. She worked for Husky Oil Company for many years and retired in 1981.
Ruth loved flower gardening and in her later years blessed her family with the prolific blooms from her Christmas cactus.
She is survived by her six children: Gary (Tiew) Buchholz of Fairbanks, Alaska; Gerald (Susan) Buchholz of Worland; Harold (Marge) Buchholz of Cody; Shirley (Mort) Hamilton of Cody; Robert (Terry) Buchholz of Beaverton, Ore.; and Sandra (David) Allshouse of Cody; 15 grandchildren, 12 great-grandchildren, and two great-great-grandchildren; a brother Jim (Dottie) Preston and sister Connie (John) Bennett, both of Lincoln.
Ruth was preceded in death by her husband Clarence (Buck) in 1990. Prior to his death, Ruth and Buck enjoyed spending their winters in Nevada.
Funeral services will be held at Trinity Lutheran Church of Cody on Friday, March 4 at 10 a.m. with visitation one hour prior. Following the service, the family invites you to join them for lunch and fellowship at the church before going to Riverside Cemetery at noon. An online guestbook is available at www.ballardfh.com.
