Ruth Arlene Lippert

Ruth Arlene Lippert, age 104, passed away peacefully on September 27, 2026. Born to John and Anna Instenes on October 24, 1921, she grew up on the homesteaded Norwegian family farm near Ettrick, WI. She had two sisters, Olive and Jeanette and a brother Spencer. Ruth attended the one-room schoolhouse at Beaches Corner, WI to which her father would bring her across the snow-covered roads in a sleigh in winter.

Following her graduation from high school in Blair, WI, she attended secretarial school in La Crosse, WI. Ruth moved to the “big city” of Milwaukee with a friend during World War II where she worked at the Navy Department as a civil servant. This is where she met her future husband Ralph, having been introduced by his sister Ruth (later Dillahunty). Ruth and Ralph were married on June 28, 1947, later settling into a home they built on the northwest side of Milwaukee where they raised their four children, Nancy, Linda, Robert and Jane, and where Ruth continued to live for the next 70 years.

A comforting and encouraging mother, Ruth was a stable presence in her children’s lives, both in their early years and after. She carried on her farming heritage by planting a large vegetable garden as well as many flowers every spring. Her roses were one of her great joys. Ruth’s hospitality was often experienced around the dining room table with delicious home cooked meals. Holidays were important to Ruth, celebrated with food, family, church and her special decorations.

She was an active quilter at church for 30 years as well as having enjoyed sewing clothes for her family. Additionally, she worked as an election worker for 50 years and as a secretary as her children got older. Ruth enjoyed times at the family cottage on Okauchee Lake, vacations in northern Wisconsin on Wool Lake, regular trips to the family farm and visiting relatives in Florida. A highlight of Ruth’s life was a trip to Norway with her brother, sister-in-law and niece and a trip to Hawaii with her sister-in-law Ruth Dillahunty.

At Ruth’s 100th birthday celebration in 2021, family and friends gathered to honor Ruth for which she was so grateful. Her steadfast faith in God, enthusiasm for life and enjoyment of being with people were surely a secret to her long life here on earth.

Her husband Ralph preceded her in death, as well as her brother and sisters, brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law, and grandson Evan Fahl.

Ruth is survived by her four children, Nancy Fahl, Linda (Mark) Young, Robert (Teresa) Lippert and Jane Lippert, grandchildren Bryan Fahl, Erik Fahl, Nessa (JGreg) Young-Miller and Bex, Reggie (Ellie)Young, Eric (Alaina) LaCoursiere, Kristin Nadendla (Prasad) and Michael Lippert, and great-grandchildren Tristram, Oriana and Leoric Miller, Zander LaCoursiere and Benjamin Young. She is also survived by nieces, nephews, friends and her 88th street neighbors.

The celebration of Ruth’s life will be on October 9, 2026 at Mount Carmel Lutheran Church, 8424 West Center Street, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Visitation will be from 10:00 AM until the time of the service at 11:30 AM, with a reception to follow. If unable to attend, please visit the Livestream Worship Library on the church website (mountcarmelchurch.org). A private burial will be held at Wisconsin Memorial Park in Brookfield, Wisconsin.

Donations in her memory can be made to Mount Carmel Lutheran Church or the Ruth Instenes Lippert Scholarship Fund- College of Nursing, University of Wiscsonsin-Eau Claire to fund future nursing students from rural Wisconsin.