Ruth A. Paulsen passed away August 5, 2017. She was born on December 9, 1940 in Cosby, Missouri to Ernest and Ollie Thornton. She graduated from Central High School, St Joseph, Missouri in 1958. She then earned a Bachelor’s degree from Northwestern Missouri State University in 1962, followed by a Master’s degree from Baker University in 1984. She used those degrees as a foreign language educator for 39 years.
She was preceded in death by her parents and two brothers, Ernest Raymond Thornton, Jr and Robert Edward Thornton.
She is survived by her son Terrill Kent Paulsen and his wife, Tina, and their children, Natalie and Nicholas; and son Jeffrey Alan Paulsen and his wife, Tiffany, and daughter, Ashley.
She is survived by brother Harold Eugene Thornton and his wife, Janette and their children, Matt and Byron; and sister-in-law Patricia Thornton and her children, Penny and Bobby.
She is also survived by numerous relatives and friends.
Ruth loved reading, photography, creativity, and traveling to France. She believed that teaching a foreign language was a means to understand the world, as well as appreciate and show tolerance for those around us. Most important was family and the strong bond of love.