William Ruml
William Ruml

Obituary of William Ruml

A funeral service for Bill Ruml, 79, of Lake Park, will be held Wednesday, June 19, 2019 at 10:30AM at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Milford. Visitation will begin one hour prior to the service at the church. Burial will be at Calvary Cemetery. William James Ruml, of Lake Park, IA, died Thursday, June 6, 2019 at Accura Care Center in Milford, IA. He was born April 25, 1940 in Milford, IA to Joseph and Anna (Schweihofer) Ruml. He attended Excelsior School and graduated in 1958. After graduation, he worked in California at Douglas Aircraft and after learning his mother had passed, he returned to Iowa to help on the family farm. He married Marjorie Doran on August 24, 1963 at St. Andrews Catholic Church in Sibley, Iowa by the Rev. Leo Berger. They lived in Spirit Lake for a short time while still farming and was a member of St. Joseph Catholic Church in Milford. In 1976, they built their home south of Lake Park where they resided until 2003. They then settled in Lake Park after his retirement. To this union they were blessed with four children; Mark (Cindy), Ann (Mike), Debra (Tim) and Deana (Royce) and five grandchildren, Jennie, Taylor, Amanda, Nicole and Nolan and three step-grandchildren, Jennifer, Matthew and Veronica. While he continued his love of farming, he also thoroughly enjoyed his employment with the Dickinson County Secondary Road Department where he was employed for 27 years. He considered his best job being a grandpa. Over the years he enjoyed playing cards, bowling, going for drives while smoking his tobacco pipe. He loved watching football and visiting with friends and never met anyone he didn't like. Of all the wonderful memories, nothing stands out like Bill's sense of humor. Bill was best known for his love of telling stories. Bill was diagnosed with melanoma esophageal cancer in 1999 and later was diagnosed with muscular dystrophy. A courageous fighter for his health for many years, he fought hard but some battles cannot be won. His inability to walk and fully communicate did not rob him of his sense of humor. Bill was preceded by his parents, his brothers: John, Joe, and sisters: Mary, Betty and Florence. He was also preceded by two sisters-law, Larraine and Carrol, two brothers-in-law, Robert and Bud and one niece, Cindy. In heaven, he has joined his friends and family and continues his story telling, drinking his Black Velvet and smoking his pipe. We are comforted knowing he is in a much better place.