OREM, UTAH – Ruth Gerber Sweeten, formerly of Malad, Idaho, passed away from natural causes on March 21, 2009, in the home of her daughter, Christine Goodwin of Orem, Utah.
Ruth was born February 2, 1922, in Spring Lake, Utah, to Ether Lyman and Cornelia Hanks Gerber. She was the second of four children and the only girl. Ruth attended many schools as her father was a carpenter who moved the family from job to job. Ruth graduated from Shasta Union High School in Redding, California, where she was on the diving team.
Ruth served a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in southern California, where she met her future husband, Colen H. Sweeten Jr., who was also serving a mission there at that time.
They were married in the Salt Lake Temple on June 29, 1944, while Colen was on furlough from the U.S. Army during World War II.
Ruth spent most of her married life living in Malad and Holbrook, Idaho. She worked in the Ford Garage as bookkeeper and later in the Malad Department Store. Ruth developed the well-deserved reputation of a great candy maker and sold many, many boxes of her wonderful chocolates over the years. Ruth and Colen raised their family in Malad and then lived in Boise, Idaho, for nine years, where she worked for Boise Cascade. She and Colen both worked and retired in Boise and then returned to Malad. They moved to Springville, Utah, in December of 2000, to be closer to family.
Ruth was a member of the LDS Church and held many positions over the years, as she loved to serve her Heavenly Father.
Ruth was preceded in death by her husband, Colen H. Sweeten Jr., her daughter, Jan Isom, her son-in-law, Charles Isom, her granddaughter, Jennifer Isom, Ruth’s parents and her three brothers, Dale, Clyde and Glade Gerber. She is survived by her children, Susan (Bill) Erickson, Pleasant Grove, Utah, Eileen Hess, Springville, Utah, Christine (Bryce) Goodwin, Orem, Utah, and Colen H. (Cindy) Sweeten III, Springville, Utah; 15 grandchildren and 14 great-grandchildren.
Funeral services will be held on Saturday, March 28, 2009, at noon in the Malad LDS Sixth Ward Chapel, 200 W. 400 N., Malad, Idaho. Friends may visit with the family on Friday evening, March 27 from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Horsley Funeral Home, 132 W. 300 N., and again on Saturday at the funeral home from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. prior to the service. Burial will follow in the Malad City Cemetery. Condolences may be sent to www.horsleyfuneralhome.com.
Published in Idaho State Journal on Mar. 24, 2009.