Emily Ruth Roust

Emily Ruth (née Thomas) Roust

Emily, age 99, of Shorewood, passed away peacefully surrounded by family on February 3, 2026 at Ridgeview Medical Center in Waconia.

Emily was born in a four room house on July 19, 1926, in Excelsior to Frederick and Emma Thomas. Being the eighth child born in that house it was crowded. There was no running water inside and the firemen would come and fill up the cistern when it was empty. There was no bathroom, just a "two-holer" equipped with a Sears catalog.

There was a boys' bedroom with two double beds, two girls slept in a spare bedroom, her Mom and Dad in the other bedroom, and Emily and her sister slept in the living room. When the tenth child was born, the family was complete.

In May of 1934, the family moved into a larger house down the street that had four bedrooms and two bathrooms. Emily's mother was in seventh heaven. Her Dad created a garden containing apple trees, strawberries, raspberries, currants, grapes, plums, gooseberries, and lots of vegetables and beautiful flowers.

The kids spent a lot of time outdoors. Lots of neighbors to play with - baseball games, swimming, roller skating, riding bicycles, jacks, and jump rope, and ping pong on the dining room table when it was raining. They also had a deck of cards, ice skates, and a sled for wintertime fun. Her Dad would go fishing two or three times a week and would ask the kids to go along.

Emily had a paper route when she was about 10 years old. She started babysitting when she was 12 years old to earn a little spending money. When she was 16 (and also even later on when her kids were little) she worked at the Excelsior Amusement Park as a cashier. As a senior in high school Emily worked at NSP (now Xcel Energy) doing the sundry ledger and stuffing statements to mail out to customers. All of the Thomas kids had jobs of one sort or another to earn extra money. The boys also had paper routes at various times. The girls sold magazines door to door.

After graduating from Excelsior High School in May of 1944, Emily worked in Minneapolis for Employers Mutual Insurance Co. in the policy writing department.

Then, on June 28, 1947, a new chapter in her life started when Emily married Ray Roust. Emily lived in Excelsior or Shorewood her entire life. Emily and Ray met on the bus ride from Excelsior to Minneapolis. They had four children - Tom, Jerry, Lori, and Joni. And they became widely known in the area for growing tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, and other vegetables that the kids sold at the roadside stand and Ray would deliver to several local grocery stores and restaurants. Many of the tomatoes were an heirloom variety called Thessalonicas that Ray started each year from seed originating from the homestead in Sweden.

Emily grew up in the Excelsior Methodist Church and became a member of Mount Olivet Lutheran Church at the time of her marriage. She belonged to the Minnetonka Circle at Mount Olivet. She appreciated the spiritual nurturing and developed many friendships through church.

Emily is preceded in death by her beloved husband of 56.5 years, Raymond Roust; parents Frederick and Emma (Elfman) Thomas; siblings Ellis Sr. (Margaret), Dorothy (Harry) Burtt, Elizabeth (Bill) Hendricks, James (Evelyn), Frederick Jr. (Esther), Donald (Mavis), Margaret "Peggy" (Delmar "Bud") Weaver, Robert (Janice), Richard "Bud"; sisters-in-law Dorothy, Marilyn, Lorraine (Creigton) Mauritz, and Marlys Werdick . She is survived by her children Thomas (Susan), Gerald (Joyce), Lori and JoAnn (Richard) Stapfer; 10 grandchildren Kevin, Colin (Amy), Kristin (Scott) Norberg, Annette (Mark) Ziegler, Amy (Todd) Mott, Erika (Justin) White, Lukas (Hillary), Henry O'Keefe, Andrew O'Keefe (fiancée Mea), and James Stapfer; 10 great-grandchildren Kirsten, Erik, Griffin, Eli, Autumn, Lou, Bennett, Wesley, Everly, and Olivia; sister-in-law Helen Thomas; and many nieces, nephews, other extended family, and friends.

Family, friends, and neighbors were so very important to her. Her presence will be greatly missed by all, as will her vast knowledge of the Lake Minnetonka area.

The funeral service will be held on Friday, February 13, 2026, at Mount Olivet Lutheran Church West Campus, 7150 Rolling Acres Road, Victoria, MN 55386, at noon, with visitation one hour prior, and luncheon following in the Fellowship Hall. Interment follows at Woodside Cemetery in Shorewood, MN. In lieu of flowers, memorials preferred to Mount Olivet Lutheran Church or Good Samaritan Society - Long Term Care.