"Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?"
— Mary Oliver, "The Summer Day"
Obituary
Ruth Anne "Ruthie" (Silvis) Schimelpfenig 87, died June 7, 2026, San Diego, CA. Born March 1939 in Wagner, SD the eighth and youngest child of Will and Ruth Silvis. She graduated (South Mpls or ?) High School in 1957, attended University of Minnesota and Marycrest College, Davenport IA, earning Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees in Computer Science in 1985. Ruthie married Leslie "Les" William Schimelpfenig in 1958, and from this union four children were born: Steven Kalmer, Paul William, Daniel Karl, and Laura Ellen.
Ruthie excelled in stage theater costume and set design for Les's drama productions throughout his career teaching HS and college theater. Together they loved music, actors and a general gaiety for life. Her laugh was infectious and genuine. Ruthie was a life-long political and anti-war activist and social justice advocate. She taught computer science and math at Marycrest College and worked in many other areas including the floral/nursery industry with Gen & Jim (her sister and brother-in-law). She enjoyed traveling and was an avid gardener, a creative quilter and had a massive stamp collection. Telling stories and spending time with her children, extended family and numerous friends was the heartbeat of her life.
Preceded in death by parents William R. and Ruth E. (Morrow) Silvis, daughter-in-law Dina (Armstrong) Schimelpfenig, siblings Lorraine Silvis, Sr. Jeanette Silvis (PBVM), Genevieve McCarthy, Catheryn Mason, Margaret "Jane" Wagner, Dr. Stephen E. Silvis, and Thomas "Sharp" Silvis.
She is survived by her beloved husband of 68 years, Les "Schim" Schimelpfenig, her children Dr. Steven (Ginny), Paul (Samrang), Daniel (and nephew Aaron Evans), and Laura Schimelpfenig, 2 grandchildren Zachary Alan and Celia Grace Schimelpfenig, 3 great-grandchildren Emery, Parker, Rosilyn, 2 step-grandchildren Kristy (Vernon) and Nita, and step great-grandchildren Kayla, Thomas, Jordan, Nikki. She will be dearly missed and remembered by many nieces, nephews, extended relatives and friends.
A Celebration of Life will be held at Mission Point Park, San Diego, California on Saturday, September 19, 2026.
Ruthie requested her body be donated to UCLA to further medical science.
Timeline
Promoted to Director
Gallery
Memory wall
It’s always been Uncle Les and Aunt Ruthie.
They seemed bigger than life to me when I was young.
Delightfully different from my parents even though my Dad was Les little brother.
Ruth and my Mom both married into the Schimmazzle.
The madness served best to reinforce an inevitable bond between them.
What I remember most is the banter. Uncle Les would say something dry, sharp and correct on the surface.
Aunt Ruthie would be quietly waiting with the perfect comeback before he'd finished the sentence.
She never let him win a round.
You would have thought he would have seen it coming.
It was like being at a closed performance watching two actors who’d been perfecting a repartee in a scene that needed no director in a play without a final curtain.
I really want to go see that play again.
Other memories that keep her closer than I deserve.
Touring the terraced gardens cut into the hillside at their last house in Minnesota, sometime around 2014, with Ruth, Les, and Lolly.
Whose idea were those gardens? Les or Ruths?
I do remember how proud she was walking us through them, tier by tier.
And supper with Les & Ruth, Paul in San Diego, October 2023.
The last time Dawn Elizabeth and I were with her.
Ruth was as sharp as a tack and we could have talked about anything and everything for hours.
It’s only after the minutes have slipped that we miss those moments that we want again.
I’d give a lot to see Aunt Ruth’s smile again, and that glint she'd get in her eye right before she dropped the perfect line right on the mark.
Our youngest cousin reminded all of us of what our earliest conversations with Aunt Ruth were like. She didn’t talk down to anyone.
She raised you up and made you feel as big as you could be.
I wish I'd understood, when I was young, how rare it was that someone who'd lived the life she had would sit down and talk to the little versions of us like she could already see who we were going to become, before we had any idea ourselves.
And I wish that as an adult I'd found the words to tell her what that meant.
We're all hurting for our family right now.
Holding you all close, hoping for peace for each of you and especially for our Uncle Les.
MIZPAH Aunt Ruthie.
Family tree
Celebration of Life
While we mourn the loss of Ruthie, we intend to cherish the moments shared and the joy brought into our lives.
2600 Baywalk, San Diego, CA 92109
Modest-outdoor attire.
Remember it can cool off quickly early in the evening.
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