Ruby Ellen Tebelius, 87, of Bowdon, ND, passed away Saturday, September 7, 2019 at St. Aloisius Nursing Home in Harvey, ND. Her funeral will be held Friday, September 13, 2019 at 2:00 P.M. at the Bowdon Country Seventh-day Adventist Church in rural Bowdon, ND with Pastor Sarel Smit officiating. Visitation will be from 5:00 P.M. to 7:00 P.M. on Thursday at the Nelson Funeral Home in Fesssenden. Burial will be held at the Bowdon Country Seventh Day Adventist Cemetery in rural Bowdon. In lieu of flowers, memorials are preferred to the Bowdon Country Seventh-Day Adventist Cemetery: 182 43 ^rd Avenue NE Bowdon, ND 58418.

Ruby Ellen Fischer was born December 28, 1931, to John and Irene (Renk) Fischer. She survived the Great Depression on a small farm at Golden Valley, ND with her siblings where children were taught to be seen and not heard. Life was hard. She walked to their small rural schoolhouse where she struggled to learn English as she knew only German. She attended Sheyenne River Academy at Harvey, ND graduating in 1950 and these were some of the best years of her life.

She married Hugo Tebelius on June 4, 1950, at Bowdon where they made their home on the family farm. Ruby was always busy and was no stranger to hard work. She milked cows, stacked hay bales, fixed fence, painted outbuildings, and picked rocks without complaint. She picked crab apples, chokecherries, juneberries and wild plums ad made them into jelly. She made German case knepfla, strudel and kuchen and passed those recipes on to the next generation. They moved to Bowdon in 1989 and she took care of Hugo through years of ill health until his death December 18, 2000.

She loved the Lord and served him in her own quiet way all her life. She earned Master Guide status and lead the youth Pathfinder club for years. She taught outdoor cooking, lashing and trailblazing honors, taking her students camping in the hills in Kidder County. She taught by example more than by her words. She was always the peacemaker in the family and lived by the verse, "A soft answer turneth away wrath." She loved music and sang alto in the Bowdon Country Women's trio. She played the piano and could transpose music to different key signatures for various voice levels.

Ruby could pinch a penny harder than anyone. She mended screen doors, stockings and leather gloves. She spent rainy days in her sewing room ad whatever you needed you could find it in her big red button box. She saved footwear of all sizes in the basement so none of her family would ever have to go barefoot. Instead of buying new clothes, she would shop at the Thrift Store. She lived by the premise "Man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at your heart." She was happiest when she was outside working in her garden or flowerbeds. She was always patient, always loving, and always kind.

She is survived by sons Brian (Kathleen Deede) and Jon (Patricia Hurt) of Bowdon, daughter Brenda Eichele (Lonnie) of Harvey and one brother Dennis Fischer of Lincoln, NE. She had 5 grandchildren; Karl (Samantha) Tebelius of Bowdon; Matthew (Nikki) Tebelius of Dixon, TN; Sara (Fredrick) Wiedrich of Bowdon, ND; Jodi (Travis) Wiersch of Balfour, ND; and Jaclyn (JJ) Nelson of Dickinson, ND. She had four great grandsons, Kale and Deklan Tebelius, Elijah Wiedrich, and Wyatt Wiersch; and one step great grandson, Nathan Wiedrich.

She was preceded in death by her husband Hugo; her parents, her brothers, Benjamin, Eddy, Lloyd and Erling Fischer; and sisters Berneice Wentland and Shirley Baumgartner.