Ruth Louise Schmidt, 101, of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, died peacefully on February 28, 2026, at Ava's House in Sioux Falls. She was 101 years, 4 months, and 5 days old.

Funeral Services will be held at 11:00 am Thursday, March 5, 2026, at Dow Rummel Halladay Peterson Chapel, 1321 W. Dow Rummel Street, Sioux Falls, SD. The family will be present one hour before the service for visitation.

The committal service will take place at 10:00 am (Mountain Time), Friday, March 6, 2026, at Black Hills National Cemetery, Sturgis, SD.

Ruth was born on October 23, 1924, in Firesteel, South Dakota, to William F and Eva L (Meginness) Ehrenberg. She was raised in the Isabel area and completed her junior and senior years in Timber Lake, South Dakota, graduating in 1942. Her father, Bill, died in 1939, as a result of a tragic elevator accident, leaving Eva to raise Ruth and her sister, Delores, alone.

Following high school, Ruth attended Sioux Falls College (now the University of Sioux Falls) for two years. During the war years, Sioux Falls College operated as a two-year institution. After college, she worked for The Equitable Life Insurance Assurance Society in Sioux Falls.

Her adventurous spirit then carried her west and eventually east. She traveled to Spokane, Washington, to serve as a bridesmaid for a dear friend from Firesteel, and then went to Richmond, California, to visit her aunts, Lily, Bertha, and Pearl. While in California, she worked for approximately two years before transferring to New York City to work for the Seafarers International Union. After her time with the Seafarers Union, she changed positions and began working for the Downtown Business School at New York University.

Ruth fondly recalled her years in New York. Living in Brooklyn with a close college friend, she embraced city life and traveled to Boston, Philadelphia, New London, Connecticut, and Atlantic City. They attended theater productions and dined in special restaurants, broadening their small-town Midwest heritage with curiosity and enthusiasm.

When her mother began experiencing the first signs of cancer and could no longer live alone, Ruth returned to South Dakota. She accepted a position as the president's secretary at Northern State Teachers College (now Northern State University) in Aberdeen. She and her mother shared an apartment there.

Ruth often spoke of her mother's determination and willpower. After recovering from surgery for a spinal cord tumor, her mother continued working until cancer returned. She died in Sturgis, South Dakota, in 1963.

After serving in the Coast Guard, Elwin R. Schmidt returned to South Dakota. Ruth and Elwin, who had attended school together in Isabel and Timber Lake, reconnected after the war and were married on September 23, 1949, in Aberdeen.

While Ruth continued working at Northern, Elwin completed his master's degree in education and administration. In 1950, they moved to Cresbard, South Dakota, where Elwin began teaching. Their son, Rhys William Schmidt, was born in 1951, and their daughter, Susan Denise Schmidt, was born in 1953.

In 1965, the family moved to Pierre, South Dakota, where Elwin joined the South Dakota Department of Public Instruction. Prior to this time, Ruth returned to school and earned her master's degree in elementary education and reading. She began her teaching career in the Pierre School District, serving in elementary classrooms and later as a Title I remedial reading teacher. She retired in 1988.

During her lifetime, Ruth was active in the Pierre Area Reading Council,

Delta Kappa Gamma, a Rotary Ann, the Order of the Eastern Star, and the Daughters of the American Revolution. Special interests included scrapbooking, family history, the Timber Lake and the South Dakota Historical Society. She enjoyed all of the wonderful people she met along the way! Education and lifelong learning were central to her life.

Ruth and Elwin celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in 1999. In 2008, they moved to Dow Rummel Village in Sioux Falls. After Elwin's death later that year, Ruth continued living independently at Dow Rummel until January 2026. Following a brief hospitalization, she entered Ava's House in Sioux Falls, where she died peacefully.

Ruth is survived by her daughter, Susan, and son-in-law, Larry N Overgaard; her grandchildren: Sarah (Michael) Nolan, and their children, Monica and Paige; Mathew W. Schmidt; Amanda (Michael) McGreevy, and their daughter, Estelle; Emily (Derrick) Robinson and their children, Ruthie, Graham, and Winslow; and daughter-in law, Kay Schmidt, and her children Ryan, Jeremy, Ashley, and their families.

She is also survived by her sister, Dr. Delores Ehrenberg Kruger; her nephews, Dr. Paul Kruger (Megan), Warren (Laura) Kruger, James (Juleigh) Kruger, and their families. She also has many additional nieces and nephews and special friends, too numerous to mention, She considered all of them her "favorites! "

She was preceded in death by her parents, William F. and Eva (Meginness) Ehrenberg; her husband, Elwin R. Schmidt; her son, Rhys Schmidt; her in-laws, Reinhold and Martha Schmidt; and her brother-in-law, Col. Arthur J. Kruger.

Ruth's life spanned more than a century — from prairie beginnings in Firesteel to the streets of New York City and back to South Dakota, where she devoted herself to education, family, and steady determination. She leaves behind a legacy shaped by resilience, curiosity, and a lifelong commitment to learning.