BOONE, Iowa—Funeral arrangements have been set for Ronald Kruse, age 81, of Boone, Iowa and formerly of Ogden, Iowa. He passed away on Wednesday, July 21, 2021 at the Eastern Star Masonic Home.

A memorial service will be held at 2:00 P.M. on Monday, July 26, 2021 at the Schroeder-Reimers Memorial Chapel at Sixth and Marshall Streets in Boone. Ron’s final resting place will be in the mausoleum at Glenwood Cemetery in Ogden. Military rites will be presented by the Boone County Veterans Council.

Ronald Alfred Kruse was born October 28, 1939 in Turtleford, Saskatchewan, Canada to Fred and Lillian (Lobe) Kruse. He grew up on a homestead outside of Mervin, Canada with his brothers Gordon Paul and Raymond Fred. He attended Clover Lake Elementary School until his family moved to a farm south of Ogden, Iowa in 1944. Ron was baptized May 8, 1949 and later confirmed on April 11, 1954 at Zion Lutheran Church in Ogden. He graduated from Ogden High School in 1958.

Ron enlisted in the United States Navy on July 21, 1958 in Des Moines, Iowa. He served on the USS Proteus during the Vietnam War. He was honorably discharged on July 13, 1962.

After leaving the service, Ron worked with his brothers on the family farm custom spraying for farmers. He then started a business K & T Backhoe and Trenching. In 1970, Ron began working as a firefighter in Boone, Iowa, where he was a member of the Boone County Underwater Search and Rescue team. Ron retired from the fire department on September 30, 1995. He kept busy mowing and grounds keeping at the Boone Airport and local cemeteries following retirement.

He met Lullabell (Ober) Kelley on July 6, 1992. They were married on February 14, 1994 in Lehigh, Iowa and they lived in Boone for the next 27 years.

In his free time, Ron belonged to The Cocklebur Club and the Hunt and Fish Club. Ron and his wife raised AKC registered Boxers for many years.

Ron was preceded in death by his parents, Lillian and Fred Kruse; brother, Raymond Kruse; and step-daughter, Lori Mendez. He is survived by his wife Lullabell of Boone; daughter, Michele (Scott) Latterell of Dodgeville, WI; son, Troy (Tammy) Kruse of Lake Havasu City, AZ; step-daughter, Peggy Ober of Des Moines; step-sons, Larry (Sonya) Kelley of Lehigh and David Kelley of Boone; 12 grandchildren; 15 great-grandchildren; brother, Gordon (Kathy) Kruse of Denver, CO; sister-in-law, Dorothy Kruse of Ogden; along with numerous nieces and nephews.

Funeral arrangements are under the direction of the Schroeder-Reimers Memorial Chapel at Sixth and Marshall Streets in Boone. Online condolences may be left to Ron’s family at www.schroedermemorialchapel.com. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Ron’s Family.

Ronald Kruse, 81, Boone, Iowa and formerly of Ogden, Iowa