Ruby E. Thorson

Ruby E. Thorson, 91 of Belgrade, passed away peacefully in her sleep on Monday, June 29, 2020 at Legends Senior Living Center in Peoria, Arizona.  A visitation will be from 2-4 p.m. Saturday, July 18, 2020 at the Johnson Funeral Home in Belgrade. A mask and social distancing are encouraged.  A private family graveside service at Crow River Lutheran Cemetery will be held at later time.  

Ruby E. Thorson, a longtime resident of Belgrade, she relocated to the Phoenix, Arizona area in 2014 to be closer to her immediate family and escape the ice and snow. During her time in the “big city” she lived in a retirement community condo and made many friends while participating in the community activities.

After a bout with the flu and a tumble in 2018, Ruby moved to a smaller, more intimate, assisted living facility in Peoria, Arizona. Visited daily by her family, she enjoyed home cooked meals and a personal connection with her caregivers.

She will long be remembered as a loving elementary school teacher in the BBE, New London, and Morris, Minnesota communities. She taught for 29 years and enjoyed seeing her students grow both emotionally and academically.  In her spare time, she made thousands of birthday, wedding, graduation, and confirmation cakes- and to this day, you will be hard pressed to find anyone who hasn’t enjoyed her amazing frosting.

A devout servant of Christ, Ruby was a lifetime member of her beloved Crow River Lutheran Church. She enjoyed singing in the Adult and Norwegian Choirs, as well as attending polka fests, church auctions, and after-church social hours. There she was baptized, confirmed, and on September 21, 1952, married the love of her life, Francis Thorson.

Francis died in 1959 and preceded her in death by 61 years. In addition to her husband, she was preceded in death by her parents, Ray and Randine Johnson, brother, Delmore Johnson, and several brother and sisters-in-law on the Thorson side.

She is survived by her daughter, Deborah and son-in-law William “Bill” Norris; grandchildren, Scott (Dawn) Norris, Jennifer (Joshua) Denman; great-grandchildren, Shaun Norris, Kylee Norris, and Olivia Denman; sister Myra (Gurvin) Femrite, sister-in-law Suzie Johnson, and numerous nieces and nephews.

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