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Mary Ruth Arensdorf, 58, Iowa City
Obituaries · September 22, 2016



Mary Ruth Arensdorf, 58, longtime Iowa City resident, passed away peacefully at her home surrounded by family and friends on Friday, August 12, 2016.

A Celebration of her life will be held September 24th at The Kirkwood Room at Governor’s Ridge from 3:00 to 6:00 pm. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be directed to Systems Unlimited. The family encourages wearing casual attire please!

Mary Ruth was born Oct. 26, 1957, in Dubuque, Iowa, the daughter of Nicholas and Gertrude (Nolan) Arensdorf.

Moving to Iowa City in 1975, Mary Ruth lived in several Systems Unlimited homes the last of which was at 311 Oberlin St., Iowa City. She worked at Goodwill, Iowa House Hotel, The Holiday Inn Downtown Iowa City, and other Iowa City businesses.

Her favorite pastime was listening to music by ELVIS and dancing at Studio 13 as well as at the Friday night Iowa City “Ped Mall” music events. She loved all of the Disney characters and was especially fond of Winnie The Pooh. Her sense of humor and generous spirit endeared her to many friends over the years. She also enjoyed attending Camp Courageous and the Iowa City Recreation Department Special Populations programs.

She is survived by her brothers, Nicholas Arensdorf (Maureen) of Coralville and Ed Arensdorf (Karen) of West Branch; nephews, Mike Arensdorf of Raleigh, N.C., Mark Arensdorf of Iowa City, David Arensdorf (Jennifer Kennedy) of Wheaton, Ill.; nieces, Deborah Donohoe (Brent) of West Branch and Kris Matheson of Nichols, Iowa; great-nephews and nieces, Adam Donohoe, Paige Donohoe, Nick Arensdorf, Matthew Arensdorf, Samantha Nixon and Bailey Gunn. She is also survived by many excellent and loving care providers at Systems Unlimited to whom her family will be forever grateful.

Mary Ruth was preceded in death by her parents and a brother William.