Ruth Garrison

OMAHA - Ruth Garrison, 76, of Atlantic, Iowa, died Thursday, Dec. 17, 2020, at CHI Health Creighton University Medical Center - Bergan Mercy in Omaha.
A remembrance gathering will be planned at a later date.
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Ruth was born Emma Ruth Hasenauer in North Platte on Dec. 7, 1944. She grew up in the North Platte area, graduating from high school in 1963. After graduation she moved to Kearney where she met Len Garrison. The two married July 5, 1964. Len already had three children: Ron, Linda and Steve. Their son Kendal was born in 1970. Ruth graduated from the University of Nebraska at Kearney with her Bachelors of Fine Arts degree in 1976. After graduation she started a gift, home decor and custom framing shop called Décoratif.
In 1980, Ruth, Len and Kendal moved to Lemoyne on the north side of Lake McConaughy in the Sandhills of western Nebraska. Ruth later spent three winters in Beaver Creek, Colorado, working in the children's ski school and as a nanny. In 1993 she moved to Lincoln where she lived with family and worked as the custom framing department manager at a national craft store chain.
In 2014 Ruth and family moved to Atlantic, Iowa. Throughout her life, Ruth was a passionate artist. She had many fans who enjoyed her pottery, photography and paintings. She specialized in acrylic and watercolor paintings, and her favorite genres were still life, floral and landscape. Ruth loved having tea in her garden, and she grew many of the flowers used in her artwork. She also had a prolific collection of antiques, quilts and linens that provided inspiration for her art.
Survivors include her siblings, John Hasenauer, Lyle Hasenauer, Chris Hasenauer, Kenneth Hasenauer, Susan Thompson and Sandra Thompson; her children, Ron Garrison, Steve Garrison, Linda Cope and Kendal Garrison; her daughters-in-law, Michelle Garrison and Melody Garrison; her sons-in-law, Marshal Cope and Errol "Skip" Coleman; her grandchildren, Shannon Garrison, Todd Garrison, Daniel Richter, Megan Russell, Geordan Christian, Autumn Christian and Madison Garrison; and her many cousins, nieces, nephews and great-grandchildren.
Ruth was preceded in death by her stepfather, Charles Thompson; her father, Ruben Hasenauer; her mother, Mary (Young) Thompson; her sister, Linda Ready; and her stepsister, Marsha Williams.