Ruth L. Barkley Stensrud, 80, of Great Falls, passed away quietly Saturday, June 15, 2024. She was surrounded by family and a close friend. She was born October 17,1943, in Havre, Montana, the daughter of Helen and Fred Barkley. Ruth lived most of her adult life in Great Falls, Montana.
Ruth met her husband-to-be, John Stensrud, in the winter of 1961. They became good friends and often danced together. During the big flood of 1964, Ruth and her sister were flooded out of the house they lived in. John helped them move first to a house across the railroad tracks and later to his parents’ home when they feared the flood was going to get the house they had moved into. Ruth and John were married in September of 1964, and they shared 57 years of marriage upon John’s death. They both often told people they married their dancing partner. When they married, John already had two sons from his first marriage, Robert Allen Stensrud and John Jesse (aka Jay) Stensrud. After they married, they raised two daughters, Crystal Louise Stensrud- Anderson of Havre, Montana and Sandra Rae Stensrud of Fernley, Nevada.
In 1965, the couple moved to a 4 plex with a shop building in Black Eagle which they later purchased. Ruth began working as a bookkeeper for Western Maintenance, a janitorial cleaning business. She worked her way up and she became Office Manager/Vice-President and led the finance department. She worked there for 20 years. During this time, she took college courses, while working and raising her family (eventually earning her associate’s degree from Northern Montana College in Havre, Montana in 1993).
In the late 80’s, she took to the open road and drove 18-wheeler trucks with her husband John and was co-owner/accountant to support their trucking company (Stensrud Trucking). They drove across the continental United States and Canada. Ruth and her husband moved to a place along Belt Creek in Armington, Montana. They eventually sold the trucks, and she spent 12 years doing accounting work as a para-professional at Hamilton Misfeldt & Company. Later, the couple moved back to Black Eagle. A few years later they moved to Great Falls.
Some of her favorite things in her life were spending time with family and tending to her animals. She loved Siamese cats and Cockapoo dogs. She loved traveling, especially to San Francisco. She was an enthusiastic gardener; tomatoes were one of her favorite things to grow. She looked forward to traditional holiday baking with family, specifically making her Grandma Miller’s Sour Cream Sugar cookies and Fruit cookies, which have been passed down six generations. She also made a mean pot of stew and a special dish of macaroni and mayonnaise.
She leaves behind her 2 daughters, Crystal L Anderson (Randy) and Sandra “Sandi” R. Stensrud; 5 granddaughters, Christina Stensrud, Carie Korst Hughes (Dan), Chilo Jensen (Dane), Nichole Howard (Joe), and Jessica Carlson (John). In addition to the above-named children and grandchildren, Ruth is survived by 11 great-grandchildren; 2 great-great-grandchildren; and several nieces, nephews, and friends.
To read the complete obituary and share condolences, click here to visit the O'Connor Funeral Home website.
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