HILLSBORO - Ruth Marie Veltrop (Gaessler) passed away peacefully surrounded by loving family at Milestone Senior Living in Hillsboro Wisconsin on March 22 2021. At 96 her life was full and well lived.
She was born to William and Myrtle Gaessler on July 3rd 1924 in Ames, Iowa. She graduated from Iowa State University with a degree in nutrition. Ruth was working at a hospital in Boston when she met her husband, Jan A. Veltrop, an engineering student at MIT. They married in June of 1952 and raised their family in Illinois with a three year sabbatical to the University of Nsukka, Nigeria where her husband was the Dean of Engineering. She later moved to Wisconsin after her husband passed.
Ruth was a homemaker who did a lot of volunteering and loved to travel and read. She visited every continent and saw many of the great wonders of the world. She devoured information about the places they would visit and her Christmas letters were a travelogue of that years adventures. She also enjoyed camping, sailing and canoeing. Although she loved reading a great variety of books, she especially enjoyed historical fiction. Her twilight years were spent doing what she loved most – reading – this time as many mystery books as possible and enjoying visits with her daughter, son-in-law and Tico the “circus“ dog.
Survivors include son Loren (Gayle) Veltrop of Chicago IL, daughter Wendy (Charles) Manser of Hillsboro, WI; grandchildren Richard (Tina) Manser of Las Vegas NV, Taylor (Asami) Veltrop of Paris France, Lindsay (Joe) Colla of Chicago IL, Lisa Veltrop of Madison WI and Jesse Veltrop of Madison WI, brother Bill (Carol) Gaessler and niece Julie and family of Colorado Springs and nephew Gary and family of Denver CO.
She was preceded in death by her parents, husband, son Brian Veltrop and grandson Christofer Manser.
