A thirty-two year resident of Boulder, Ruth Audrey Erk passed on to her Lord and Savior at Exempla Good Samaritan Hospital Friday, November 29, 2013. A loving Mother and Grandmother, Ruth is survived by her three children, Susan Mitzelfeld of Boulder and her husband Bill, Barbara Hjermstad of Durango, CO and her husband Mike, and Keith Erk of Richmond, VA and his wife Cheri, as well as her five grandchildren, Heidi & Peter Mitzelfeld and Kristi, Kelli, and Katie Erk.

Ruth was born January 27th, 1930 in Waterloo, IA, to her parents, Lynden Ernest and Ruth Eleanor Meehan. Her parents, older sister Muriel, and Ruth settled in Indianapolis, IN where Ruth graduated from Tech High School and attended Purdue University. She married her high school sweetheart Charles Erk. Ruth and Charlie made their family home in Anderson, IN. Ruth served as the Administrative Assistant to the Dean of Students at Anderson College in Anderson, IN, a position she was extremely proud of. She moved to Boulder in 1981. Ruth was always involved in the Boulder community as an active member of the First Presbyterian Church of Boulder singing in the choir and serving as an Elder & Deacon. Ruth was a member of the local EQ Chapter of PEO and a member of the Old Mill Questers. She was the House Mother at the Colorado Alpha Chapter of Pi Beta Phi Sorority House on the campus of CU for over ten years; named an Honorary Member shortly before her retirement. Ruth was the Executive Secretary at Scientech prior to becoming the Pi Beta Phi House Mother. A memorial service for Ruth will be held at the First Presbyterian Church of Boulder on January 11th, 2014. For more information, please visit Ruth’s Forever Missed Memorial Site at http://ruth-audrey-erk.forevermissed.com. The family asks that, rather than flowers, condolences be made in the form of a directed donation to the Missions of the First Presbyterian Church of Boulder, CO.