Stories from Sunday, January 27, 2019

BERTRAND, Mo. — Ruth Ann Voelker, 72, died Jan. 25, 2019, at her home in Bertrand.Born Dec. 17, 1946, at Cape Girardeau, to the late Albert H. “Dutch” Voelker and Hazel Ruth McDowell Voelker, she was brought home to Bertrand to the family home where she would spend her entire life. After attending grade school in rural Mississippi County Schools and Junior High at the Bertrand School, she went on to graduate from Charleston High School in 1964. After graduation, she attended cosmetology school in Sikeston, becoming a licensed beautician – a career she soon decided that was not for her. She was then employed at the Sikeston Regional Center for 20 years where she retired and then went to work for the United States Postal Service and held yet another career of over 20 years until her retirement there.  A member of the A.P.W.U., she served as a union steward a number of years. A lifelong Methodist, she was a member of the Bertrand United Methodist Church and a held a special place in her heart for animals.