Ruth Hieb was born on March 19, 1924, at home on the family farm near Harold, SD. Ruth passed peacefully at the age of 101 on November 21, 2025, at the Good Samaritan Society in De Smet, South Dakota. Her funeral service will be on Wednesday, November 26, 2025, at 11:00 AM at First Presbyterian Church in Huron with burial following at Restlawn Memory Gardens Cemetery. Visitation will be one hour prior to the funeral service at the church on Wednesday.

Ruth was one of fifteen children, eight boys and seven girls, being the second to the last child. When Ruth was eight her father passed away. Her mother, along with the other children, continued running the farm. Everyone worked hard and had chores to do, one of Ruth's jobs was to help milk the cows.

Not everyone went to high school in those days but when Ruth was fourteen, she got the opportunity to attend high school at the Brookings School of Agriculture, Aggie School, as they called it. The only time they went home was for Christmas. The cost was $30 per semester, and she earned $9 a month working for the youth conservation association in the Home Economics Department. Besides academics, Ruth took poultry, sewing, and nursing. Ruth then went to Sioux Falls to Stewart's Beauty School for a year, took her State Boards in Pierre and worked in a beauty shop there. She also worked in a funeral home and earned $8 a week. After about a year, Ruth returned to the family farm to help out.

Ruth met Elden Winter while they were at Aggie. Elden and Ruth were married on September 24, 1944. They moved back to the Wessington area to farm. Early on, Ruth often ran the tractor. The couple had three boys. Randy, Arlen, and Marlen. She was a loving mom who enjoyed her boys. Almost every Sunday the family would travel to nearby relatives and friend's homes to share a meal and visit. Ruth enjoyed raising chickens and helping on the farm. Life on the farm was sometimes a challenge, but it was fulfilling and they wouldn't have had it any other way.

Elden passed away in 1975 of a heart attack and a year later, Ruth moved to Huron. She worked making draperies and doing private sewing for many years. She also sewed many special items for family members, and especially her grandchildren, who could always expect to be given an anise cookie, yogurt and ice cream, or fresh buns when the family got together. She was proud of her grandchildren and was always there for them. Her family was an important part of her life. She was active in her church, being a Deacon, Circle member and chairman of the funeral committee. She enjoyed being outdoors and you could often find her taking her daily walk around the high school track.

Ruth is survived by her oldest son Randy Winter (Jeanne) and their children Amy Spilde (Brad) and Brett Winter (Sarah), 7 great-grandchildren, Anja (Vincent) Stewart, Ashlyn, Brayden, and Alieda Spilde, Landon, Emma, and Cole Winter, and 4 great-great-grandchildren, Ellianna, Mackenzie, and Vincent Jr. Stewart and Delilah Beynon; her middle son Arlen (Pat) Winter and step-daughter Cherie (Keith) Svagerko and  step son-in-law Joe Ackerson; and her youngest son Marlen (Sandi) Winter and their children Jennifer (Trevor) Griffith, Heather (Trevor) Anderson, and step-children Lavin (Chris) Haberling and Brent (Nikie) LaFortune and 7 step-grandchildren, Gabe, Logan, Londyn, Liam, Carter, Hailey, and Mason.

Ruth is preceded in death by her husband Elden Winter (1975), Her fourteen brothers and sisters and their spouses, her daughter-in-law Cindy (1991) and her step-granddaughter Deanna Ackerson (2021).