Ruth Cora Ballenger

Ruth Cora Ballenger, 94, of Wamego, KS and formerly of Longton and Humboldt, KS, passed away Sunday, December 18, 2011 at the Westmoreland Community Care Home. Ruth was born August 30, 1917 in Humboldt, South Dakota the daughter of Bruce H. and Oma (Flesher) Crowell. She moved with her family to Kansas in 1928, attending Oak Valley grade school and living in the Longton, KS area for 22 years and Humboldt, KS for 45 years, prior to moving to Wamego in 2006. She married Joseph Oscar Ballenger on December 30, 1937. He preceded her in death. Ruth was a homemaker and active in the community she lived in. She was a member of the 1st Baptist Church of Longton for many years. Ruth enjoyed meeting her friends for coffee, sewing, bowling, and going on rides in their car. She enjoyed gardening and canning, and was a very good cook. She especially loved spending time with the grandkids, taking them fishing, and having them stay at her home in the summers. Survivors include her two sons, Joseph “Pete” Ballenger and wife Janice, of Overbrook, KS, Ronald “Lynn” Ballenger and wife Cindy, of Wamego, KS; one son in-law, Mike Weilert and wife Colleen, Wamego, KS; one twin-brother, Glenn Crowell, Independence, KS; nine grandchildren, five step-grandchildren, 16 great-grandchildren and 9 step-great-grandchildren. She was also preceded in death by her nine siblings, Charles, Olin, Lura, Max, Myra, Madge, Ralph, Vera, and Neil; her daughter, Myra “Colleen”; a daughter in-law, Ann Ballenger; and one step-grandson. Funeral services for Mrs. Ballenger will be held at 11:00 a.m., Thursday, December 22, 2011 at the 1st Baptist Church of Longton. Burial will follow at the Longton Cemetery. She will lie in-state beginning at 2:00 p.m. Wednesday at the Stewart Funeral Home of Wamego, where the family will greet friends during a visitation from 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. In lieu of flowers memorials are suggested to the Longton Cemetery or to the Alzheimer’s Association, and may be left in care of the Stewart Funeral Home of Wamego, PO Box 48, 66547.