Nordstrom, Ruby Childs (Bippus) Obituary

Nordstrom, Ruby Childs (Bippus) attended Elk Grove High School in Elk Grove, CA. View the obituary, post a memory, or share a photo about Nordstrom, Ruby Childs (bippus).

Graduation Year	Class of 1937
Date of Passing	Sep 29, 2016
About	Ruby Childs Nordstrom died Sept. 29, 2016 at the age of 97. She had been living in a care center in Lodi with her brothers Walt and Dave Bippus who both preceded her in death. Ruby was born Nov. 28, 1918 on a remote farm outside of Bismarck, N.D. to German-Moldavian immigrants Sam and Magdalena Bippus. According to her family she was fond of telling stories about herding livestock alone on the prairie. Sam moved his family to Elk Grove to farm in 1931, and Ruby graduated from Elk Grove High School in 1936. In 1937 she was baptized as one of Jehovah's Witnesses and started traveling and preaching full time across the United States. She remained a “pioneer” for 20 years. In 1942 she married Eric Childs, a W.B Ide descendant and real estate developer, and together they arranged and donated land and building materials for many Watchtower projects and more than a dozen Kingdom Halls including one in Lodi. Eric died in 1969 and Ruby moved to Lodi to be near family. She married Henry Nordstrom, a contractor from Atherton in 1974. Ruby is survived by her daughter Deborah Mabry; granddaughter Chelsea Hagler; brother Bob Bippus of Fresno; and sister Margret Susich of Lodi. Private services were held in Redding.