Ruth Karla Kenaley

1929 - 2023

Ruth Karla (Kastrup) Kenaley

Le Mars, Iowa

Ruth Karla (Kastrup) Kenaley, 93, passed away peacefully on Thursday, Feb. 2, 2023, at Accura HealthCare of Le Mars surrounded by family.

Mass of Christian Burial will be at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday at All Saints Catholic Parish - St. James Church in Le Mars. Father Douglas Klein will celebrate Mass. Burial will follow in Calvary Cemetery in Le Mars. Visitation will begin at 3 p.m. on Friday at Rexwinkel Funeral Home in Le Mars. The family will be present from 5 to 7 p.m. There will be a Parish Rosary at 5 p.m. and a Scriptural Prayer Service at 7 p.m. Visitation will resume from 9:30 a.m. until service time on Saturday at the church. Services will be uploaded to the funeral home website following services. Arrangements are with the Rexwinkel Funeral Home in Le Mars. Expressions of sympathy can be extended to the family through www.rexwinkelfh.com.

Ruth was born March 7, 1929, at Beck's Place, the family home near Dixon, Neb., to Edmund and Karen (Andersen) Kastrup. As was tradition, she was named for an older sister Ruth Carla, who had passed away before she was born. Ruth was baptized June 16, 1929, by Pastor A.N. Skanderup and confirmed April 18, 1943, by Pastor Knud Larsen in the Danish Lutheran Church in Laurel. She graduated from Laurel High School in 1947 and went on to receive a teaching certificate from Dana College in Blair, Neb. Ruth taught country school for two years at Goll School in the Rural Blair area. She then made the journey to Sioux City where she began work in the office of Dr. Wagner, as nurse, secretary, lab person and transcriptionist. She met the love of her life, Bob, in 1950, when she lived across the hall from his sisters in an apartment building.

She married Robert (Bob) Leo Kenaley on Feb. 15, 1958, at St. Jean Baptiste Catholic Church in Sioux City and converted to Catholicism. Bob and Ruth lovingly brought into the world three children: Daniel, Patrick, and Margaret. They raised their family on the farm Bob grew up on and lived there until 2003, when they bought a home in Le Mars and moved to town. In February 2021 they moved to Park Place Assisted Living in Le Mars.

Ruth was a loving, caring person with an infectious smile. In her younger years she was quite the poet, often memorializing special occasions for family and friends. She loved sending greeting cards and later, when she got her first computer, making them herself. In fact, before they were married, a friend recommended a prenuptial agreement: Bob signed that he would always provide money for cards and stamps (and Ruth agreed to let Bob go fishing anytime). Christmas was her favorite time of year, and the annual Christmas cookie baking was quite a production. She loved making Christmas cookies and sharing them with family and friends! She was a wonderful cook and had a huge collection of recipe books.

Her Danish heritage was very special to her and she grew up speaking Danish with family and friends and continued to speak it through her lifetime. Her faith and family were the most important things. Genealogy was another hobby, and she had many, many documents from her family and Bob's family. She organized the first Kastrup Family Reunion and carried out the tradition for 74 years before passing the torch to her daughter. She never missed the annual Kastrup reunion and said it was the highlight of her year.

Ruth was "The Voice" of the Plymouth County Fair for many years (she made all of the important announcements over the loudspeaker – and the most used one was "Bob, please come to the Fairboard Office"), working beside Bob who was a member of the fairboard. After having lunch at her favorite restaurant, Hu Hot, she enjoyed pulling levers and pushing buttons on the slot machines at the casino and said the secret to her success was that she always shared her winnings with the church.

She is survived by her sweetheart, Bob; children Dan (Dave Doyle) Kenaley of Albuquerque, N.M., Pat (Judy) Kenaley of Milford, Iowa, and Maggie (Charlie) Fleming of Hartington, Neb.; grandchildren Josh (Jenn) Kenaley of Mt. Horeb, Wis., Kate (Kevin) Sopha and their children Addyson and Delaney, Beau Fleming of Hartington, Chuck (Shauna Boseck) Fleming of Lincoln, NEeb., Wes (Ashlee) Fleming and their children Blakelee and Daxton of Hartington, Todd (Monica) Sparks and daughter Lily of Salida, Colo., and Traci (Tim) Sanow of Lake Park, Iowa; great-grandchildren Alison (Zach) Wielinga and their children Carter, Hayden and Asher of Orange City, Iowa, and Jake (Demitra) Sanow and daughter Tilly of Washington, Iowa; brother, Borge (Carol) Kastrup of Laurel, Neb.; and many nieces, nephews, and cherished family and friends.

She was preceded in death by her parents; brothers Kai, Carlo, Thorkild, Leo, and Robert; sisters Ruth Carla and Elsie; sisters-in-law Mabel, Millie, Lorraine, Bonna Del, and Julie Kastrup; brother-in-law Lloyd Nielsen; sisters-in-law and spouses Alice (Allan) Murray, Louise (Jim) Kidd, Rose (Don) Krogh, Rita (Rome) Starzl, Betty Kenaley, and Bonnie (Joe) Ruden; and brothers-in-law Gerald (Winifred) and Donald (Helen) Kenaley.

In lieu of flowers, memorials can be made in Ruth's name to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in care of her family.