Ruth Bornhoeft Nelson

Ruth Bornhoeft Nelson, 95, Lisbon, North Dakota, formerly, Flasher and Oakes, passed away Sunday, May 19, 2019, at North Dakota Veterans Home, Lisbon. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 11:00 AM Saturday, May 25, 2019, at Christ the King Catholic Church with Fr. Nick Schneider officiating. Visitation will be the hour prior to the service at the church. Burial will be in Mandan Union Cemetery.

Ruth was born November 4, 1923, at Flasher, to Christopher and Martha (Bruning) Breiner. She was raised and educated in the Flasher area and graduated from Flasher High School in 1940. She attended St. Alexius Nursing School and graduated as a registered nurse. She married Herman T. Bornhoeft on January 15, 1946. They farmed southeast of Flasher and that is where their six children were raised. Ruth worked at Heartview in Mandan as a registered nurse before Herman died of a heart attack in June of 1973.

After Herman's death she married Axel Nelson at Christ the King Church, Mandan on August 8, 1975. They lived on a farm near Oakes, ND and she worked as a RN at the nursing home there. In 2004, Axel and Ruth moved to the North Dakota Veterans Home in Lisbon, ND. Axel died in April 2012 and Ruth remained a resident there until her death.

Ruth loved to cook, travel and play a variety of card games. She was a member of numerous organizations through the years including the Flasher Homemakers Club, the church's Woman's Guild, 4-H Club, and a lifetime member of the American Legion Auxiliary. Her motto, "do what is right" is what she instilled in all her children and grandchildren.

She is survived by daughters, Judith (William) Kopp, Bismarck, Evelyn (James) Spangler, Bismarck, and Peggy (Donald) Boehm, Mandan; sons, Theodore (Sandy) Bornhoeft, Littleton, CO, David (Lynda) Bornhoeft, Big Lake, MN, and Thomas Bornhoeft, Barstow, CA: stepchildren Anna Kaiser, Bruce Nelson and Lori Steinwand; sister Lucille Tepp; brother, James Breiner; sister-in-law, Sandy Breiner; 17 grandchildren, numerous great-grandchildren, nieces and nephews.

Ruth was preceded in death by her parents; two husbands; sister and brother-in-law, Frances and Herman Dietz; brother, Paul Breiner; sister-in-law, Mae Breiner; and brother-in-law Don Tepp.

In lieu of flowers, family prefers donations to the ND Veterans Home in Lisbon.