Ruth Lorna Beckman passed away on December 16, 2018. She was born in Two Harbors, Minn. on September 27, 1925, the only child of two hard-working Norwegian parents.
She was preceded in death by her parents and by her first husband, Donald Beckman. She is survived by her husband, Roland Blackmarr; four children, Ginger (Paul) Downing, Don (Helen) Beckman, Scott (Terri) Beckman, and Ross (Sherry) Beckman; a step-daughter, Victoria Vernau; a brother-in-law, Glenn Beckman; nine grandchildren; and 16 great-grandchildren.
Ruth led a long, fulfilling life. She graduated from Two Harbors High School in 1944. She married her first love, Donald Beckman, from Brimson, Minn., on September 16, 1944. They raised four children during their marriage and lived in Grand Marais from 1958 to 1967. They eventually moved to Kansas City, Missouri. Don died of cancer on October 3, 1982.
As her children grew up and left the nest, Ruth pursued a nursing career, earning her RN degree and working as a nurse in the Kansas City area. She then moved on to teaching, earning a master’s degree in reading education. She retired as an instructor in a college Certified Nursing Assistants program in the early ’80s. In her free time she traveled the world, visiting several European countries, South America, the Middle East, New Zealand, China, Japan, and Egypt.
One of her lifelong favorite things to do was dancing. She married her new love, dance partner, and band leader, Roland Blackmarr, on May 1, 2015. Her final years were some of the happiest of her life. Roland was her rock as her health began to fail.
A celebration of her life was held on Dec. 31, 2018. Correspondence can be directed to Park Lawn Funeral Homes, 8251 Hillcrest Rd, Kansas City, MO 64138, or to parklawnfunerals.com/obituaries/beckman ruth/, or to rlebeckman.marn@gmail.com.
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