Ruth (Alkema) Reister

Reister, Ruth Alkema Died peacefully on May 18, 2015, in Minneapolis, MN. Ruth was born May 30, 1936 in Grandville, Michigan, the daughter of Henry and Lena (Land) Alkema. Ruth was married to the late Raymond Reister in 1967 and the two of them made Minneapolis, MN, their home for more than 40 years. Ruth graduated from the University of Michigan-School of Education in 1958, from the Harvard-Radcliffe Program in Business Administration in 1959 and then earned a law degree from the University of Michigan Law School, graduating in 1964, the only woman in her graduating class. She was a member of the State Bar Associations of Minnesota and Michigan and was admitted to practice before the Supreme Court of the United States. Ruth started her career in the Trust Department at Northwestern National Bank of Minneapolis from 1964 to 1970. She then moved to the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis where she worked in securities regulation from 1970 to 1981. She served as Deputy Under-Secretary of Agriculture under President Reagan from 1981 to 1983, and as President of FBS Agricultural Credit Corporation until she retired. Ruth served as a Board member for Herman Miller, Inc., and Jones-Harrison Homes and as President of the Jones Harrison Foundation. She was also Chair of the Board of Trustees for Gustavus Adolphus College and a member of the Honorary Council of the Minnesota Historical Society. Ruth was also involved in numerous civic organizations including The Minnesota Women's Economic Roundtable as a founding member and first President; the Minnesota Women Lawyers Association; the National Women's Coalition and the National Women's Economic Alliance Foundation. Ruth enjoyed a lifetime of travel to all corners of the world and had a great appreciation of the arts. She was also a life-long student and could frequently be found in attendance at University of Minnesota continuing education classes, presenting scholarly papers at The Peripatetics of Minneapolis or discussing the latest bestseller at a neighborhood book club. Ruth was preceded in death by her husband Ray and her sister Delores Bosker and is survived by two brothers, Dale Alkema and Eugene (Donna) Alkema, brother-in-law Paul Bosker, many nieces, nephews, and cousins and many, many friends. There will be a Memorial Service at Lakewood Chapel, 3600 Hennepin Avenue, Minneapolis, on Saturday June 13, 2015, at 11:15 a.m., followed by a reception. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be directed to the Ruth & Raymond Reister Scholarship Fund at Gustavus Adolphus College, the Minnesota Historical Society, or to a charity of your choice.

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Ruth (Alkema) Reister

May 18, 2015

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