Ruby Goerndt

Celebration of Life for Ruby Goerndt will be at noon Saturday, June 17 at the Thee Garage in Baker, Montana.

Ruby Goerndt, 93, of Baker passed away on June 13, 2023 at Fallon Medical Long Term Care in Baker.

Ruby Grace Goerndt was born April 9^th, 1930, in Hettinger, ND to Thom and Clarissa (Helland) Pederson. She grew up around Reeder, ND attending a country school near there through the 8^th grade, then going to work after that.

Ruby met the love of her life, Frederick (Fritz) Goerndt, of Strool, SD and they were married on September 2^nd, 1952, in Lemmon, SD. They resided in numerous places, moving with the jobs Fritz held in the oilfield. Sidney, Baker, Bowman, Buffalo, Casper, Terry, Glendive, and Roundup were among the places they called home between 1952-1959. During that time, they also began their family: Carlynette Mae in 1953, Walter Tollof (Butch) in 1954, Paul Allen in 1956, and Wade in 1958 while living in a 36’ trailer that they pulled with a Studebaker. After settling their family in Baker in 1960, Fritz worked in Killdeer for a time, but Ruby and the kids did not move again. They added to their family with Kelly in 1960, Claire in 1962, and Doug in 1964.

The couple faced many trials throughout their marriage, including the loss of their first 3 children, a flood forcing them to evacuate their home in Glendive, a fire that destroyed their home in Baker, another fire that burned down Fritz’s shop, and a tornado destroyed another home while they were in it. Throughout it all, their love was unwavering and spirits steadfast as they continued their life adventures together. Fritz would delight in getting Ruby riled up, but lovingly refer to her as “the boss” when it came time to make a decision.

Ruby spent many memorable weekends camping with her family while her children were young. She worked at numerous establishments in Baker, helping to provide for her family; and was always someone who would lend help to those in need. Ruby also enjoyed baking, sewing quilts, and solving puzzles. Many consider themselves lucky to have had their birthday cake made by Ruby or to be the recipient of one of her quilts. Her grandchildren adored her as she made sure that each of them knew how precious they were to her, and she was “Grandma Ruby” to most other little ones as well. In later years, Ruby made countless trips with Fritz during the 10 years of volunteering to drive the VA van to Fort Meade.

Ruby passed away peacefully in her sleep Tuesday morning at Fallon Medical Long-Term Care, June 13^th, 2023. She was preceded in death by her husband, parents, brothers (Philip, Ringy, Tollof, and Joe), three children (Paul Allen, Carlynette and Butch), a son-in-law (John Custer), and a great grandson (Ruger Custer). Ruby is survived by four children: Wade Goerndt, Kelly (Jaime) Goerndt, Claire Custer, and Doug (Tracey) Goerndt, 11 grandchildren: Jason (Holly), Kristen (Jim), Kandice (Jamie), Kayla (Rollin), Kari (Terrence), Kyle, Taiken (Isaac), Hannah, Ava, Celeste (Seth), and Kendra, 23 great grandchildren, and 1 great-great grandchild.