Ruby (Teichrib) Klassen

Ruby was born September 21, 1932, in Morden, Manitoba, to parents David and Katherine Teichrib. Her family moved to a farm in the Bear Creek District, west of Gladstone, where Ruby attended Bear Creek School. As a young woman, Ruby worked in town at the Gladstone Hospital.

On October 17, 1954, Ruby married Fred Klassen at a little country church on Bear Creek Road. They settled on a quarter of land in the hills west of the Arden Ridge. Their first baby, Glen, was born in 1956. The young family moved to Winnipeg, where Fred worked as a roofer for two years. In 1960, the couple returned to the Sinclairville District, living in a home on the Arden Ridge Road. They began mixed farming and then ran a dairy farm for 30 years. In 1960, their second son, Terry, was born. In 1965, daughter Andrea joined their family.

Ruby was known for her warm hospitality and giving nature. Many family and friends enjoyed coffee, or a delicious meal, always accompanied by lively conversation at her kitchen table. She was an amazing cook! Ruby was also very creative. She was a gifted seamstress who sewed and did intricate needlework, knitting, and crochet pieces. Although hard work, Ruby also enjoyed her large fruit, vegetable, and flower garden, preserving thousands and thousands of quarts of produce through the years! But Ruby’s greatest source of joy by far was found in her grandchildren and great-grandchildren. She cuddled them as babies, got down on the floor with them as toddlers, played games with them as children, and had good conversations with them as adults. And, despite her declining health, Ruby continued to enjoy visiting and spending time with them. She received lots of joy from looking at pictures and watching the videos they sent her.

Ruby loved living in the country, but in 2022, after experiencing health issues, she moved to an assisted living complex in Neepawa. In July 2024, she was admitted to Country Meadows Personal Care Home, where she passed away peacefully on November 20, 2024.

Ruby is survived by her son Glen (Margo) and son Terry, grandchildren Vanessa, Derek (Candice), and Daren (Jillian), and great-grandchildren Dylan, Rosie, Kayleigh, Brielle, and Norah. She is also survived by her brother Bill, sister Doreen (Brian), sisters-in-law Helen, Louise, Annette, Betty, and Tina, brothers-in-law Leroy, Arnold, John (Dorothy), and Peter (Chris), and numerous nieces and nephews.  

Ruby was predeceased by her parents David and Katherine, husband Fred, and daughter Andrea, brothers John, Gordon, Harvey, Clifford, and Wilbert, father and mother in-law Frank and Agatha, brothers-in-law Ben, Jake, and Ike, and sisters-in-law Agnes, Janet, Marie, Peggy, and Eva.