Rev. Orrell C. Ruth
Obituary's Biography:
Rev. Orrell Charles Ruth, 84, a resident of Grayslake, IL, passed away Monday, March 21, 2022. He was born November 13, 1937 in Elgin, IL to Charles and Jennie (nee Maule) Ruth. He grew up in Hampshire, IL and was a graduate of Hampshire High School, North Central College ‘59 and The Evangelical Theological Seminary ‘63. He obtain his Certificate of Licensure to preach on June 19,1957 and was ordained a pastor of The Evangelical United Brethren Church on June 19, 1963. He was a member of the Zion Church in Hampshire, IL and served the following parishes: First United Methodist Church of Belvidere 1959, Grace Church Logan Square 1961, Alexis-Henderson 1963, Atwood Heights Christ Church Alsip 1965, Bethel-Christ Parish 1970, First United Methodist Church Freeport 1974, First United Methodist Church Ottawa 1979, Grace United Methodist Church Lake Bluff 1989, Our Redeemer’s United Methodist Church Schaumburg 1995, and The United Protestant Church Grayslake 1999.
He met his wife Marcia while serving as the assistant pastor and they were married on August 19, 1962 in Belvidere, IL. He loved baseball and was a lifelong Phillies fan. He enjoyed the hobby of raising and racing homing pigeons for many years and had a love of birds. Orrell was a dedicated pastor, devoted and loving husband, father, son, brother and friend. He loved his life’s work sharing God’s love with everyone he met. His favorite phrase was “God Loves You and So Do I”
Rev. Orrell is survived by his daughter, Jennifer (Rajeev) Ruth-Daniel; and his siblings, Orris (Val) of Hampshire and Carlyn Rothlisberger of Perrysburg, OH. He was preceded in death by his wife, Marcia Neufer Ruth; his daughter, Gisele Ruth; and his parents.
A visitation will be held at Strang Funeral Chapel, 410 E. Belvidere Road, Grayslake, IL 60030 on Thursday, March 24, 2022 from 3:00pm until 7:00pm. A funeral service will be held at United Protestant Church of Grayslake, 54 S Whitney Street, Grayslake, IL 60030 on Friday, March 25, 2022 at 10:00am. Interment will be held at Hampshire Cemetery in Hampshire, IL. In lieu of flowers, please make a donation to the United Protestant Church of Grayslake or your local church. For information, please call 847-223-8122 or visit www.strangfuneral.org.
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He was a good man. Good son, good brother, good student, good husband, good father, good minister. I was always so proud of him. He married Mel & I, he baptized Marti & Nicole, he took part in their marriages, he baptized their children. Go bless him. He was a man of God. We cherished him and I know he is forever in Gods care now. RIP brother.
RR was one of the best pastors in my life. He kept high-school kids listening to him in church which is extremely hard! He was always encouraging, uplifting, loving, when I needed it. He enjoyed baseball! We called him babe in our church league! He’s a man that I can’t wait to see when I get to that great baseball field up there!
Jennifer please accept my condolences .Your father was a great person and he was the one to introduce me to the 1st United Methodist Church. He hired me to be the baby sitter in the nursery & I taught the nursery children religion. I worked there for 20 years and I enjoy it very much.
Jen and Rajeev, so very sorry for the loss of your father/father-in-law. My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family.
Katie Grum
Tom and I have truly enjoyed Orrell snd Marcia over the years. Their faith has always inspired us. They were ready for their heavenly home together. Our sincere , heartfelt prayers and sympathy , Tom and Carol
My prayers to all friends and family! What a great pastor and person with a gentle heart! I loved working with him and learned so much from him. Well done good and faithful servant.
We love Rev Ruth. God loves him and so do we. He married me on May 22, 1976. When his family lived in Freeport, Illinois. And when he moved to grayslake. We keeped in touch. We will miss him. But , now he is with Marcia and daughter Gisele. Love. Cathy &. Amanda
We are saddened to learn of the passing of Rev Ruth. We knew him as pastor of Grace United Methodist Church Lake Bluff. We were new members during that time with 2 young daughters. Orrell was very kind, welcoming and willing to gently interact with babies. I have followed his face book posts and will miss them.
Our condolences to Jennifer. Orrell and Marcia served Grace well and we will remember them fondly. He was such a loyal Phillies fan in the midst of Cub territory!
Dear Jennifer and Rajiv,
We are saddened to hear about the loss of your dear father. May God be with you during this difficult time and give you strength. May his soul rest in peace. Yours in sympathy, Mark and Hema Gnaster ( Michigan )