Ruth Effa, 97, of Columbus, Nebraska, died Saturday, February 22, 2025, at Emerald Nursing & Rehab in Columbus in the care of Columbus Hospice.

A memorial service will be held at 2:00 PM, on Saturday, March 15, at Shell Creek Baptist Church, rural Columbus, with Pastor Ben Jones officiating and a ceremony by the Nebraska Nurse Honor Guard. Visitation will be on Saturday, from 1:00 PM until service time, at the church. Private family interment will be in Shell Creek Baptist Cemetery.

Ruth Irene Geary Effa was born on January 30, 1928, in a sod house on the plains of eastern Colorado near Kit Carson, the first child of Robert and Karen (Jensen) Geary. She told stories of hunting rattle snakes and arrowheads. She kept a box of snake rattles in her dresser drawer for most of her life. We were fascinated. When her brother George was old enough for high school, they were sent off to Christian boarding school—first to John Brown in Arkansas (they were withdrawn from there as it was deemed too liberal…the girls were allowed to wear Chapstick!) and then to Hesston Academy in Kansas. She attended Bethel Deaconess School of Nursing in Newton, KS before completing her nurses' training at University of Nebraska at Omaha. The close relationships forged at Bethel were cultivated her whole life as a round robin letter made its way around the circle of friends almost every year and reunions were common.

After graduation, she worked in Omaha as a private duty nurse and on a TB/Iron lung ward. Eventually, she moved to Sioux Falls, South Dakota to take college courses, working on her Bachelor's degree in nursing. She never finished the course work to her regret. This is why she was such an advocate for Marianne to complete a Bachelor's degree when she went to nursing school, attending Bethel (now a College) in Newton, just like her mom. Ruth worked night shift at the local hospital as well as campus nurse. She also saw students from the nearby North American Baptist (NAB) seminary. It was there that she met William Effa. Their dates were simple: rides to and from work and an occasional hamburger. On May 31, 1953, Ruth was united in marriage to Rev. William Effa in Sioux Falls, South Dakota after his graduation and ordination.

Their married life was of serving churches in the NAB conference, starting in Alberta. Roger and Robert were born in Drumheller. The next assignment took them to North Dakota where Randy and Marianne were born in Harvey. Dear friendships were made at every church they served but for mom, her friendship with Mary Ann Broschat lasted a lifetime with letters exchanged several times a year. Visits to N. Dakota were part of every annual trip up to visit Effa relatives in Saskatchewan, Canada.

Dad and Mom served churches in Montana, Nebraska (Shell Creek Baptist) and Kansas. In every location, she was a dedicated Sunday School and Vacation Bible School teacher as well as serving with musical abilities of singing and playing the organ and piano. She sang in the local Columbus Mother Singers group for many years. She enjoyed being on the Sunshine Committee of Shell Creek as it was fun and kind to reach out to those in the congregation needing encouragement and prayer.

She worked in nursing in nearly every location they lived, her career spanning from 1951 to 1998. In 1993 she began volunteering for Columbus Hospice as a respite/sitter. She is remembered by the staff for her volunteer service, some who provided care at her end of life. We are grateful for their fine care provided to her at Emerald. Her proudest professional moments were being selected twice for the Who's Who in American Nursing in 1990-1991 and 2002-2003 editions of the Society of Nursing Professionals.

Mom had gifted hands and she loved to sew and kept the family dressed in handcrafted items, most famously with the matching shirts and pajamas. Mother/Daughter outfits were also a thing. Rachel, Jessica and Karen all benefited from the grandma at the sewing machine. She repaired many a pair of blue jeans to keep Roger outfitted. She was a knitter and in her later years she knitted dozens of pairs of slippers to send to a Guideposts sponsored ministry. Each family member received at least one (or more) afghan. At Christmas, every "family" would get a lovingly braided authentic Danish pastry—it was at least 10 inches long and covered in delicious almonds. She discovered scrapbooking as a way to memorialize life and she did a book for each of her siblings, each of the church locations they pastored and one of her nursing career. She made a lot of headway to do a book for each of her children but time ran out and so we each have a box instead of a book.

She supported Wheels for the World, a Joni Erickson Tada ministry and was thrilled to attend a Wheels for the World conference on one of her several trips to California to visit her brother Bobby and family. Other travel highlights of her life were accompanying sons Randy and Robert on the Lakeview marching band trip to El Paso in 1978 to participate in the parade and see the Sun Bowl. That trip included a jaunt to see Carlsbad Caverns which was a fond memory for mom and the boys. A memorable family trip was to Banff National Park in Alberta that included the bear in the parking lot and hippies in the park. We wore our matching shirts on that trip...got lots of comments. Her biggest international adventure was to Denmark with her sister Eleanor and Marianne to meet the last living brother of their mother and visit the family farm place. We each received a beautiful amber necklace as a gift from a cousin.

What did Mom love? Well here is a short list.

1. Cats. She had a cat in her home up until the final year that she was no longer living independently. She and Dad particularly loved a big old tuxedo boy named Charlie and spoke of him often.
2. Music. She had favorite performers such as Andre Rieu, the Three Tenors, and Johnny Cash. We had records of all kinds to listen to growing up (not Rock and roll, of course). She had a treat one year to attend a Mannheim Steamroller concert with her good friend Norma Wilke. She found singing hymns to be her best way to devote time to God and hear from him. She would often spend time at the organ, particularly in Kansas.
3. Birds and flowers. Long ago she had been a member of the Audubon Society and she loved to identify birds. She planted gladioli every year and tended her roses, particularly the Peace Rose in the front flower bed in Columbus. Dogwood flowers were her mother's favorite and so became hers as well.
4. Tuesday Morning Bible Study and all those wonderful women who were part of it. One did not call on Tuesday morning as she was busy! Those ladies meant so much to her.
5. Chocolate. You never saw someone who could make a chocolate anything last as long as she did. Growing up during the depression taught her to savor the treats of life.
6. Independence. She was aided in her independence by the faithful visits of friends and family dropping in to check on her, taking their lunches with her and watching over her. She took great comfort in having Roger living in the basement apartment and she cooked supper for him for as long as she was able. This was possible up until April of 2023 when after a fall and hip surgery, she moved to Emerald for rehab but it was realized she was unsafe to go home. She had a long career working at Emerald (known to the family always as the Manor) and so it was fitting that this is where she would live.
7. Her daughters-in-law Dien and Christel. She felt them to be true daughters from the moment her sons chose them.
8. Lance and Pat: She loved you both

What was Mom's greatest Blessing?

When Dad and Mom returned to Columbus in 1992, they finally got to be "in person" grandparents, helping with Randy Jr. while his parents worked. They had Randy Jr. time every Saturday for years beyond his need for "babysitting". They helped with Karen when needed and those Saturdays with Oma and Opa continued as Karen time. It was an incredible gift. She saw her grandchildren grow up and become adults; attend graduations and two weddings and live to see her first great-grandchild graduate from high school.

She was pleased that her children found Godly life partners. Her family is her legacy, her career was her service, and her life was devoted to Jesus. Each day at noon meal, she said grace. When we celebrated her 97th birthday in January of this year, we asked her to say grace and she said it and we heard it from her lips the final time.

Ruth is survived by:
Son: Robert (Christel) Effa of Columbus, NE
Son: Randall (Dien) Effa of Columbus, NE
Daughter: Marianne Effa (Terry Miller) of Newton, KS
Grandchildren: Rachel Effa (Pat Case) of Columbus, NE; Jessica (Lance) Conley of LaVista, NE;
Randall Effa Jr. of Omaha, NE;
Great granddaughters: Karen Effa of LaVista, NE & Layna Conley of LaVista, NE

Ruth was preceded in death by:
Parents: Robert & Karen Geary
Husband: Rev. William Effa
Son: Roger Effa
Brothers: Kenneth Geary, George Geary, & Robert Geary
Sister: Eleanor Wright
Nephew: Doug Wright
Niece: Rachel Geary
Great nephew: Eric Wright