Henrietta Johanna Moershel Ruff, age 93 of South Amana, died Friday, February 27, 2009 at Colonial Manor of Amana following a short illness. Funeral Services: 10:00 A.M. Wednesday, March 4, 2009, Middle Amana Community Church with Elder Mike Shoup officiating. Burial will be in the South Amana Cemetery. Friends may call from 4 to 7 P.M. Tuesday, March 3, 2009 at the Middle Amana Community Church in Middle Amana. Memorials may be contributed to the Amana Library, Amana Church Society or the charity of the donor’s choice. Kloster Funeral Home, Marengo is in charge of arrangements.

Henrietta was born February 12, 1916 in Homestead, Iowa, the daughter of Fred W. and Katherine Johanna Hofer Moershel. She and her brother, Carl F. were in the first class to graduate from Amana High School in 1936. After graduating from Coe College with a BA degree, she returned to Amana High School in 1940 as a teacher at the age of 24. Henrietta taught English and, in the early years, business classes as well. In 1964 she began graduate work in library science and became certified as a high school and elementary librarian. Through her efforts, the high school library expanded to serve all grades and eventually the community as a whole.

Henrietta moved to South Amana when she married Ferdinand J. Ruff on June 4, 1950. Together they enjoyed their many travels to Europe where they made lifelong friends. She retired in 1976 to care for Ferdinand who died in 1977. In 1994 Henrietta moved to Lakeview Village in Middle Amana.

For her students in the three and a half decades of her teaching and librarian career, ‘Mrs. Ruff’ was more than an instructor. She directed school plays, sponsored HI-LITES (the monthly newspaper) and the yearbook, and chaperoned school trips. She encouraged creativity, expanded horizons for many students and inspired generations of teachers, writers and readers. Highly esteemed by her fellow teachers, Henrietta led by quiet example and was a role model for bringing out the best in her students.

Creative writing was Henrietta’s passion. Her stories, essays and poetry have appeared in Wilkommen, Involvement and other publications. She published two books, Seasons to Remember, Recollections of an Amana Childhood (1996) and Green Voices, Selected Poetry (2000). She honed her writing through participation in a writer’s club for more than two decades after her retirement and by attending Elder Hostel sessions throughout North America.

Henrietta received numerous awards including the Amana Community Schools Award for 38 years of Faithful Devoted Service in 1997, the AEA Friend of Education Award in 1979, the Amana Arts Guild “Friend of the Arts Award” in 1991, the Iowa Volunteer Hall of Fame Award presented by Governor Terry Branstad in 1992 and the Clear Creek Amana Hall of Fame Award in 2003. She was a member of the Delta Kappa Gamma Society, the Amana Church Society, Amana Arts Guild, Amana Historical Society and was the first 4-H leader in the Amana Colonies.

She will be dearly missed by her family; her stepson, Henry Ruff (Emaline) of Middle Amana; her step-grandson, Eric Ruff (Sherry) of Redding, CA and step great-grandson, Austin; her nieces, Marianne Moershel (Bruce Woodrow) and Rebecca Moershel (Larry Gordon) of Toronto, Canada and their families; her sister-in-law Marietta Moershel of Middle Amana and special friends Larry and Linda Yoder of Marengo. She was preceded in death by her husband, her parents, and her beloved brother, Carl.

The family extends appreciation to the staffs of Lakeview Village, Colonial Manor of Amana and Essence of Life Hospice for the loving care and friendship they provided for Henrietta.