Ruth I. Herbst

Ruth Ilgaudas Herbst, 77, of Washington, passed away at her home on Monday, July 25, 2011 surrounded by her family, after a long and courageous 14 year battle with cancer. Ruth was born on August 31, 1933 in Klaipeda, Lithuania to Jacob and Berta Kincius Ilgaudas. She married R. George Herbst, Jr. at St. Mark?s Lutheran Church in Washington on May 24, 1953. George survives. Also surviving are three daughters, Kathy (Herbst) Bell of Washington, Jeannie Herbst of Peoria and Barbara (Ethan) Garrett of Sarasota, FL; one son, George (Veronica) Herbst III of Peoria; one sister, Christa Satz of Eau Claire, WI; six grandchildren, Eric, Kristin, Jeremy, Andrew, Lucas and Kaitlynn and one special loving great granddaughter, Lyla. She was also preceded in death by two sisters and two brothers. Ruth was co-owner of Herbst Company and also had worked for Service Extension at Salvation Army from 1984 until her retirement in 2006. Prior to that she had worked for Eureka College and R. G. LeTeurneau in Peoria. Ruth also was a graduate of Pan Am Airline School in Omaha and was fluent in 7 languages. A highlight of her career was her annual involvement with the Service Extension Camp for kids with Salvation Army. Thru her travels as service-extension with the Salvation Army she developed long lasting friendships that she treasured. She came to Washington on March 13, 1951 from Lithuania and was sponsored by St. Mark's Lutheran Church where she also was a member.. Ruth was compassionate about her family, friends, cooking, gardening and interior decorating. A special thank you goes out to Dr. James Gerstner, Dr. Michael Veeder and their staff at Rt. 91 Illinois Cancer Care and Dr. McGee, Dr. Elwood & Roger of OSF Radiology for turning a "6 months to live" prognosis to 14 years-allowing Ruth to experience some great wonders in her life. Also thank you to Joy, Reegan and Heather for their care giving skills and friendship the last few months-and to Sherry for the compassionate care with dignity given the last few days. Funeral services for Ruth will be held at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, July 30, 2011 at St. Mark?s Lutheran Church with Pastor John Bates officiating. Burial will follow in Glendale Cemetery in Washington. Visitation will be at the church on Saturday from 9 to 10:15. Assisting the family in arrangements is Mason-White Funeral Home. Memorials for Ruth may be directed to the Children?s Camp of the Salvation Army.