Ruth Bateman

Ruth M. (Basel) Bateman passed away from natural causes on June 27, 2019, at Walker Place in Minneapolis, MN.  Ruth was born on October 27, 1924, on the Charles Basel Farm in Wellington Township, Alpena County, Michigan, to Charles and Wilhelmina (Brandt) Basel.  As a child and young adult, she was a member of St. John Lutheran Church in Royston, MI.

Ruth graduated from the Hillman (Michigan) High School in 1942.  From 1943 to 1946, she attended the three-year registered nursing program at the Saginaw (Michigan) General Hospital School of Nursing.  Ruth received her diploma as a Registered Nurse from Saginaw General in 1946 after completing the clinical training program at the Hines Veterans Administration Medical Center in Chicago.  During this time period, Ruth was also a member of the United States Cadet Nurse Corps.

Ruth worked at Saginaw General Hospital for six months in 1946.  She then worked for two years for Dr. Harry Matthews, MD (ob-gyn) in Saginaw, before moving to Lansing, Michigan.  Ruth worked for two years for the Ingham County TB Stand in Lansing.  She then worked for the American Red Cross Great Lakes Regional Blood Program from 1951 until she retired on March 1, 1987.  While employed with the Red Cross, Ruth traveled the state of Michigan drawing blood.  She held the position of Head Nurse during the later part of her career with the Blood Program.  Ruth was a member of the Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Lansing during this time period.

Ruth built her retirement home in the Forest Lake subdivision in Arenac County (Alger, Michigan) in 1987.  While living in Alger, she worked as a Red Cross volunteer, organizing and promoting blood drives at the Faith Lutheran Church in Prescott, MI, where she was a member.  She was also active in other community activities, such as volunteering at the Standish Community Hospital doing health screenings and other health and wellness programs.  Ruth moved to Walker Place in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in August, 2001, where she resided until her demise.

Ruth married Dorr Dean Bateman in 1952.  They divorced in 1960, several years after Dorr incurred a personality-altering severe traumatic brain injury in a farming accident.  He died in 1984.  Ruth was preceded in death by her parents, Charlie and Minnie Basel; her sisters, Gertrude Basel, Anita Roggow, and Yvonne Basel; her brother Amos Basel; and her good friend and sister-in-law, Helen Basel.  Ruth is survived by her two children, Guy Dean Bateman, Ph.D., of Tacoma, WA, and Della Marie Somwaru, of Golden Valley, MN, as well as one of her brothers, Carl O. Basel of Alpena, MI, and several nieces, nephews, and their descendents.

Internment will be at the St. John Lutheran Church Cemetery in Royston, MI.  A brief grave-side service will the held there on July 5, 2019, at 11:00 AM.  A memorial service will be held in the Walker Place chapel at 11:00 AM on July 3, 2019.