Ruth Irene (Seilo) Maijala

Obituary for Ruth Irene Maijala

            Ruth Irene Maijala, 100, was born on March 1, 1921, the fifth of seven girls  to John and Aliina (Ammala) Seilo in Rice River Township, Aitkin County, Minnesota.  She passed away on June 19, 2021 of complications after surgery at Aitkin Health Services in Aitkin, Minnesota.  She was preceded in death by her husband Arnold in 2006, parents, all her siblings: Mayme Gustin, Alma Koski, Selma Maki, Aili (infant), Lillian (infant), and Genevieve Babcock.  She is survived by son Thomas, daughter Donna Walker, sister-in-law Ailie Otterson of Cloquet and nieces and nephews.

            Ruth attended school at Rice River County school through 8th grade and graduated from McGregor High school in 1940.  Around that time she helped her dad with bookkeeping and cooking for his logging operation.  She married Arnold Maijala of Tamarack on Christmas Eve of 1941 and then worked as a cook for an entire logging crew.  They bought a farm west of Kettle River in 1943 where her husband trucked and cut Christmas trees and Ruth milked cows and made boughs.  They moved to McGregor in 1956 where she did sewing for others and helped with her husband’s bulk oil business.  The last 2 years she had resided at Carefree Living on north side of McGregor.

            She was very good at sewing and made a lot of the family clothes, sewed for others, made drapes, bedspreads, and covered furniture, all by designing her own patterns.  She also did a lot of the handy work around the house.  Flowers were a passion of hers and she created flower arrangements for display where she won numerous prizes.  She and Arnold did a lot of league bowling and went to many tournaments.  In later years they traveled to all 50 states and had taken a lot of pictures.  They enjoyed going to Arizona every winter and playing at casinos.

            She was a member of Our Saviors Lutheran Church in McGregor, the Rice River Senior Club,  and previously a member of the McGregor Flower club.

             Funeral services will be 11am – Thursday, June 24, 2021 at Our Saviors Lutheran Church in McGregor.  Visitation will be 1 hour prior to the service at the church.  Lunch will follow the service at the church and then burial will be in the Salo Cemetery, Salo Township.  Arrangements are with McGregor Funeral Home & Cremation Services in McGregor.  Go to www.srtfuneral to leave a message of condolence.

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