St. Clair County Obits

VELMA RUFENACHT

Springfield News-Leder
3 April 2008
Velma (Neuenschwander) Rufenacht - Velma Neuenschwander Rufenacht, 91, Springfield, formerly of Lowry City, peacefully passed away March 31, 2008, in Point Lookout Nursing and Rehab Center,
Hollister. She was born October 7, 1916, in Chloe, Mo., the daughter of Eli and Norah Jenkins
Neuenschwander. Following graduation from high school, Velma attended Central Missouri State Teachers
College, earning 60 hours and a teaching certificate. She taught in rural elementary schools in the
Deepwater area before leaving the teaching profession to help on the family dairy farm. 25 years later, she
went back to Central Missouri State University, earning a bachelors degree in elementary education and a masters degree in library science. She taught at Lowry City High School, Osceola High School, and
retired after 29 years from the Clinton School District, where she was high school librarian.
Velma was preceded in death by her parents, and husband of 53 years, Raymond.
Survivors include her daughter, Mary Lynn Grimes and husband, Rob of Ridgedale, Mo.; son Mark of Springfield; sister Lottie Salsbury of Deepwater; grandson Alan Grimes of Kansas City, Mo.; granddaughter Debbie Stark and husband, Devin of Clinton; and two great-grandsons, Brandon and Blake Stark. Services will be Friday, April 4, at 10 a.m., in the Valley Center United Church of Christ, Deepwater.
Burial will be in the Valley Center Cemetery under the direction of the Sheldon-Goodrich Funeral Home in Osceola. Family will receive friends from 9 to 10 a.m., in the church. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorial contributions to the Missouri Retired Teachers Association Building Fund in care of the funeral home.