Funeral services for Ruth V. McGillivary, age 100, of Watertown, SD, will be at 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday, May 11, 2011, at Grace Lutheran Church in Watertown.  Rev. Stephen Lauricella will officiate.  Music will be provided by Marcia Jelsma as organist with Judy Everson and Don Seim as vocalists.  Ruth passed away on Friday, May 6, 2011, at a care center in Watertown.  She was the widow of Earl C. McGillivary.

     Burial will be in Mt. Hope Cemetery in Watertown.  Honorary pallbearers will be:  James K. Haug, Sgt. Alexander Haug, Jonathan Haug, Samuel Haug, Col. Richard M. Goodman, U.S.A.F. Ret., Ruth’s nieces and nephews, and Jenkins Living Center third floor nurses and aides.  Active pallbearers will be:  John Dagel, Jon Dagel, Keith Dagel, Jeremiah Dagel, Todd McGillivary, and Rock McGillivary.  Ushers will be Bob Redmond and Marvin McGillivary. 

     Visitation will be at Crawford Funeral Chapel in Watertown on Tuesday from 4 to 7 p.m. and in the church on Wednesday prior to the services.  The family is requested to meet at the church by 1:00 p.m. for a prayer service.

     Ruth was born on December 23, 1910, on a farm near Waverly, SD, to John and Alice (Crawford) Redmond.  She attended rural schools near Waverly, high school for two years at Henry, SD, and graduated from Waverly in 1930.  She was the last surviving member of the Waverly class of 1930.

     On January 10, 1931, Ruth married Earl C. McGillivary in Clark, SD.  They lived on a farm near Henry until 1942 when they moved into Henry for two years.  In 1944, they moved to Watertown, SD, where she was employed by Montgomery Ward.  She then worked as a dental receptionist for Dr. H. F. Aarstad until she retired in 1976.  Ruth then did some seasonal work at Lakeland Nursery.

     Ruth was a life time member of the Watertown Business and Professional Women’s Association and Watertown Credit Women.  She was also a member of Grace Lutheran Church (Lydia Circle) and an associated member of Our Savior’s Lutheran Church of Mesa, AZ.  Gardening, canning fruits and vegetables were some of her most enjoyable pastimes, but nothing matched her love of playing pinochle or watching the Minnesota Twins baseball team play.  She loved to travel and visited all fifty states and all of the Canadian Provinces.  She also traveled to England, Scotland, Wales, and Ireland.  She was very proud of having kissed the Blarney Stone.  Many winters were spent in Mesa, AZ, with her daughter Eloyce. 

     Ruth is survived by two daughters:  Eloyce McGillivary of Bloomington, MN, and Marlis (John) Dagel of Watertown, SD; three grandchildren:  Jon Dagel (special friend Debbie Lukonen) of Watertown, SD, Keith (Debbie Hansen) Dagel of Sioux Falls, SD, and Lynet (James) Haug of Rapid City, SD; four great-grandsons:  Jeremiah Dagel of Cottage Grove, MN, Sgt. Alexander Haug, and fiancé, Anna Svonni, of Wiesbaden, Germany, Jonathan Haug of Denver, CO, and Samuel Haug of Rapid City, SD; and many nieces and nephews.

     She was preceded in death by her husband, Earl; an infant son; her parents; one sister, Marie Goodman VanSickle; two brothers, Joseph and Lacey Redmond; and all of her sisters-in-law and brothers-in law.