Ruth B. Hollenbeck

Ruth Bernice (Marriner) Hollenbeck, age 98, of Concordia, Mo., passed away Sept. 17, 2016  at the Lutheran Good Shepherd Home, where she had lived for several years.
Ruth was born Jan. 1, 1918 to John and Abbie (Kreek) Marriner at their home in Curzon, near Oregon.
Ruth graduated from Oregon High School in 1935, and then received her teaching certificate. She would go on to complete a BS in Education from Northwest Missouri State Teachers College (now Northwest Missouri State University) as well as a Master of Education degree from Northwest and a Master of Science degree in Geography from the University of Missouri-Columbia.
In 1945 Ruth left teaching to join the American Red Cross. She began as a Servicemen’s Club assistant director in Italy, where, in addition to her Red Cross duties, she taught English to local residents and prisoners of war. Ruth finished her tour of duty as Captain.
Returning home, she married her high school sweetheart Glenn Russell Hollenbeck of Mound City. They moved to California and had three children. In 1952, they moved back to Holt County where Ruth resumed her teaching career. In 1967 Ruth and Glenn moved to Moberly, where they both taught until they retired in 1980.
Ruth then began a second career helping students earn their GED, and administering the adult basic education literacy program for a Moberly junior college, teaching English as a second language.  She was one of eight across the U.S. to serve on Barbara Bush’s National Literacy Committee. She also served as a Republican Committeewoman from Randolph County, and Glenn was a Republican Committeeman.
Ruth was preceded in death by her husband of 46 years, Glenn Hollenbeck in 1992, brother, Richard Marriner and sister, Esther Marriner Kneale.
Survivors include her children, John (Diane) Hollenbeck of Cripple Creek, Colo., Pat (Lee) Milligan of Houston, Tex., and Kay (Harold) Hoflander of Higginsville, Mo.; grandsons, John Paul Hollenbeck of Olathe, Kan., Russell Knocke of Phoenix, Ariz., Jonathan and Joseph Hoflander, both of Kansas City, and Keven Hoflander of Higginsville; granddaughters, Allison Hollenbeck Kleiber and Lindsey Hollenbeck Miller, both of Columbia, Mo., and Camie Hoflander Bolletta of Polk City, Iowa; 13 great grandchildren; and numerous nieces, nephews and cousins.
Services: Monday, September 26, 2016, 11:30 am, Chamberlain Funeral Home, Oregon. Family will greet friends one hour prior to services. Interment: Maple Grove Cemetery. Memorials: Holt County Historical Society or the Maple Grove Cemetery Association.