(photo)

Funeral services for Ruth Gaydou, 96, who died at Memorial Community Hospital, June 19, 1990, were held Thursday, June 21, at the First Christian Church. Rev. Owen Wilmot and Rev. Dave Ludwick officiated. Burial was in the Blair Cemetery.

Ruth Ruby Gaydou was born in Rochester, New York on May 8, 1894 to George and Emma Metcalfe Ruby. When Ruth was nine years old her dad was accidentally killed in a construction accident and her mother died a few months later.

Ruth and her brother George were the youngest of a family of seven children so the two youngest were put on an orphan train in New York and headed west. When they arrived in Blair at the train depot they were taken, along with several other orphans, to the “Tin Hall” which is now the location of Assembly of God Church, and they were lined up on the stage where people would come and select the child they wanted.

Ruth’s brother, George, was selected by a Badgerour family. Ruth was taken by a Gustave Wulf family.

Later, Mrs. Wulf died and Ruth was raised by “Grandma Wulf”. She attended and graduated from Blair High School and later attended a business college in Omaha, where she also worked for some time as a secretary.

At the age of 21, Ruth accepted her Lord and was baptized by immersion at the First Christian Church in Blair. She maintained her church membership as long as she lived and she was an avid Bible student and especially liked and studied the Old Testament.

History was a very important subject to her and she kept up with all the changes in history. Ruth married Charles Gaydou. She acted as secretary and bookkeeper for some time in Charles’ several businesses. The most remembered one was probably the Gaydou Hatchery, located in the 2300 block of Nebraska Street.

Charles died in 1953 and Ruth continued living in their home until January 1990 when she was hospitalized.

She later moved to the Good Shepherd Home to which she and her husband had liberally contributed. She was a very dedicated Christian woman and she supported many benevolent organizations and gave her support anonymously to fulfill many needs of people in Blair.

Ruth was preceded in death by her parents, her husband, her four sisters, two brothers, and several nieces and nephews.

She is survived by two nieces, Mrs. Ruby Coleman of California and Mrs. Helen Eddy of Florida.

Mrs. Dorothy Wilmot, accompanied by Mrs. Donna Ball, sang “We Will Say Goodnite Here, But Good Morning Up There” and “In The Garden”.

Pallbearers were Bob Richards, Rex Crawford, John Beck, Marc Beck, Tim Brown and Roy Brown.

Memorials were accepted by First Christian Church.

Campbell-Aman Funeral Home was in charge of arrangements.

~~~Obituary courtesy of the Washington County Genealogical Society. Newspaper clippings on file in the Public Library, Blair, Nebraska ~~~

FindaGrave # 114689591