Ruth Marilyn Loerts

Sibley, IA        Ruth Loerts, age 85 of Sibley, IA died on Tuesday, February 14, 2017 at the Osceola Community Hospital in Sibley, IA.        Funeral service will be 10:30 AM, Monday, February 20th at First Reformed Church in Sibley, with Reverend Luke Schouten officiating.         Burial will follow at Holman Township Cemetery in Sibley, IA.         Visitation will be Sunday, February 19th from 2:00 to 6:00 PM, with family present from 4:00 to 6:00 PM at Jurrens Funeral Home of Sibley.         Ruth Marilyn Backer was born on August 25, 1931 at Sibley, IA, the daughter of Arthur and Winifred (Rosenboom) Backer.  Ruth was raised in Sibley and attended Sibley public school and graduated from Sibley High School in 1949.       Ruth baby-sat for various families and also helped do housework.  She worked at Lee’s Dime Store and was a bookkeeper for Coop Oil Company in Sibley for a time.       On May 15, 1953, Ruth was united in marriage to Wayne Loerts at the Trinity Reformed Church in Sibley.  The couple spent much of their married life on a farm near Ashton, IA and later moved to Sibley in 1991.       Ruth was an active member of the Trinity Reformed Church in Sibley.  After the church closed they became members of the First Reformed Church in Sibley.       She loved her family and enjoyed spending time with her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.      Ruth is survived by three sons:  Kenneth (wife, Wilma) Loerts of Sibley, IA, Douglas (wife, Teresa) Loerts of Milford, IA and Steven (wife, Helen) Loerts of Spencer, IA; daughter-in-law, Teresa Loerts of Spencer, IA; ten grandchildren and fourteen great-grandchildren; one sister, Dorothy Groote of Sibley, IA; one brother, Ervin Backer of Sibley, IA; and many nieces, nephews and other extended family and friends.        She was preceded in death by her parents, Arthur and Winifred Backer; step-mother, Ida Backer; her husband, Wayne in 2013; her son, David Loerts; great-granddaughter, Christina Reding in infancy; step-sister, Lavonne Balt; and two step-brothers, Delbert and Calvin Kadous.