Ruth Pauline (Drexler) Lenser, 99, died January 15, 2015 in Lincoln. Ruth was born September 11, 1915 in White Heath, Illinois to George and Emma (Danner) Drexler. She grew up in Bloomington, Ill. graduating from high school and Illinois Wesleyan University there and received a Masters Degree in Latin and French from the University of Chicago. Ruth taught these languages for fourteen years in Flora and in LaGrange, Ill. and Saginaw, Mich. high schools. In 1950, Ruth married Maurice Lenser, a college chemistry teacher. He was also well known internationally as a magician. They moved to Port Huron, Mich. and later to Austin, Minn.
Ruth was a substitute school teacher, on-call at a children’s hospital where she comforted small children, a knitter of baby items with a neighbor, and a member of AAUW and church women groups. When Maurice retired because of a heart problem they moved to the Lenser home in Tilden, Neb. Ruth first became the City Librarian while her husband was appointed to oversee the finishing and managing of the first low priced government apartments. Both were active in Peace Church and other United Church of Christ churches in northeast Nebraska. Fishing in the Elkhorn River filled quiet hours and Ruth always loved bird-watching. After her husband’s death in 1967, Ruth completed 25 years in Tilden. She finished library training classes at Wayne State College and remained as the Tilden Librarian for 21 years, also serving with Northeast and State conferences at times. In 1988 she was awarded the Nebraska Library Association Meritorious Service Award. She was elected to the Tilden Elkhorn Valley School Board for 12 1/2 years. She served on the Consistory of Tilden’s Peace United Church of Christ and took part in some state and national UCC conferences.
In 1989 Ruth moved to Lincoln’s Eastmont Towers Community where she was active with Headstart, the Eastmont library, and edited the Eastmont Courier newsletter from 1996 to 2003. She donated time to the United Church of Christ State Office to establish a small collection of books to lend to ministers, and to the Lincoln City Library Heritage Room.
Ruth is survived by her sister-in-law, Maxine (Mickey) Drexler, vocalist; her nephew, Richard Drexler, performer and Instructor of Jazz Studies at the University of Central Florida; her niece daughter, Darcy, violinist and director of The String Academy of Wisconsin at UW-Milwaukee, and her husband David Anderson, faculty member of the String Academy of Wisconsin and former violinist with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra (1976-2014); cousin’s widow, Julie Hastings, daughter, Pamela Carrier, and sons, Charles and Steven Hastings; as well as other cousins in Illinois, Arizona and Texas. Preceding her in death was her brother, Dr. R. Dwight Drexler, former pianist professor at Illinois Wesleyan University; and her cousin, William C. Hastings.
Burial services are being handled by Roper and Sons Funeral Home, Lincoln and Brockhaus-Harlan Funeral Home, Tilden, Neb. which will take place at a later date at Peace Church Cemetery.
Memorials to First-Plymouth Congregational Church, 2000 ‘D’ St., Lincoln, NE 68502 or Donor’s Choice.