Ruth Lillian Boekenkroeger

Ruth Lillian Boekenkroeger of Wyomissing passed away on January 9 at 96, surrounded by loving family. Her husband, Russell H. Boekenkroeger, Sr. preceded her in death at 84 in 1996. She was the daughter of the late Anna B. Roemer and Charles T. Roemer, Sr. Her sister Marie L. Cadmus and brother Charles T. Jr. preceded her in death. She leaves her son Russell H. Boekenkroeger, Jr., of Lynnfield, MA whose wife Susan A. Christian died at 66 in 2012; her daughter Virginia R. Jones whose husband Thomas M. Jones died at 63 in 2010, of Shillington, PA; four grandchildren Wendy L. Pekol wife of Daniel F. Pekol of Limerick, PA, Michael T. Jones husband of Lisa A. Jones Shillington, PA, Devin C. Boekenkroeger of and Ryan C. Boekenkroeger of Lynnfield, MA; 3 great grandchildren Thomas D. Pekol, Samantha M. Pekol and Leslie F. Pekol of Limerick, PA. She is also survived by 2 great nieces, a great nephew and over 15 great grand nieces and nephews and innumerable friends. Ruth was born in Newark, NJ and grew up in West Orange, NJ. Ruth had many varied and interesting careers over 68 years, retiring at 86, in 2006 spending the last 17 years at the Bon-Ton, continuing her volunteer work until she was 90. Graduating from Berkeley Secretarial School in 1937 she met her husband during WWII and married for 52 years. An avid knitter and needlepoint artist Ruth created many masterpieces which remain in the family. Gladly and sadly she has outlived almost all of her close friends. She drove her car for the last time at the end of September 2015 which is remarkable, being restrained only due to the effects of medical conditions that led to her very sad demise. Ruth has loved and given dutifully to her family in so many ways. There is a special story for her attending to each of her family members based in love and devotion to their welfare and futures doing whatever she could to ensure that the way forward was defined and provided for. As she entered the last phase of her life she did so with fond and vivid memories she could still recollect better than anyone else and thoroughly enjoyed doing so. The key was getting her to start talking and then she kept going. Bringing people together is one thing, holding them together is another and Ruth did both facing challenges along the way. Ruth conveyed the concept of family always and in the context of difficult times and choices. Facing each situation though, even if you disagreed with her, you knew she had the best in mind always. She remained the center of the family. What most achieved is a testament to her love, devotion and attention. Ruth accomplished a lot of things and her greatest accomplishment of was what she did in making others, particularly her family, successful, happy in their pursuits and lives supporting them in any way she possibly could. Send donations to the Growth Fund of L’Arche Boston North, Haverhill, MA http://larchebostonnorth.org/ for the support of adults with disabilities. Ruth’s grandchild Devin is a core member there. A memorial celebration of Ruth’s life will be held on January 30, 2016 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Wyomissing, PA from 2-4pm.