Ruth Ann Roop

Ruth Ann Roop passed away Tuesday, December 11, 2018 after a brief illness. She is survived by her husband Milo K Arden, Jr, a son Dennis Pfeiffer (and Jean), daughter Debbie Hart (and Richard), 2 Stepdaughters Angela & Felicia Arden, her identical twin sister, Janet Mclaughlin, plus 17 grandkids, 3 great grandkids and many nieces and nephews. Ruth was born May 12, 1939 along with her twin sister, Janet, in Cherry, Illinois to Floyd & Lena Pantenberg. The family moved to Triumph, Illinois after Ruth's father bought a tavern, Pat's Tap. The family help run the business by day and lived upstairs by night. People would come from all around for Lena's famous fried chicken on Saturdays. Ruth met her first husband, Charles Pfeiffer (Charlie), in Triumph while working at the tavern. Charlie would tend the bar and. Ruth waited tables to make extra money. They married in 1957 and had two children, Dennis and Debbie. They raised their family in Triumph, but were ready to escape the long, cold winters. In 1972, they move to St. Cloud, Florida and exchanged snow for sunshine. While living in St. Cloud, Ruth worked for the City of St. Cloud and then OUC for over 25 years, and processed customer's bills. At one time, she processed all the utility bills for St. Cloud's residents. She retired from OUC in 2002. Ruth met and married her second husband, Cherokee Roop, in 1982 while living in St. Cloud. They were married for 18 years until he suddenly passed away in 2000. In their years together, Ruth and Cherokee enjoyed restoring old cars, oyster bakes in their backyard with family, and traveling. After the loss of Cherokee, Milo and Ruth met by a chance encounter at the local VFW. Ruth enjoyed telling the story of the first time she met Milo. Milo was sitting by himself at the VFW bar when she walked up to him and said, "You are the sexiest thing I've ever seen in here." Milo was not quite sure what to do and left. However, it was not long after that initial encounter that Ruth and Milo were inseparable. Ruth spent her early retirement years traveling with Milo. They would often start a road trip and see where it would take them never knowing where they would stop or end up. Ruth and Milo enjoyed their trips back to Illinois to visit family and friends. On one road trip, they ended up in Niagara Falls and surprised the whole family by getting married. Milo gave Ruth her greatest dream of visiting Hawaii. They took a trip of a lifetime to Hawaii spending 2 weeks exploring the Islands. Both of them upon returning remarked next time we will fly first class. Ruth and Milo's shared sense of adventure took them to many other places and they built a lifetime of memories. When they weren't traveling, Ruth and Milo loved spending time in St. Cloud with family and friends, grandkids and great grandkids. She was always present for every celebration: birthdays, graduations and weddings. She never missed gathering for Thanksgiving and Christmas. First with her children and grandchildren, and then later with her great grandchildren. However, some of the greatest memories were made at the simple or impromptu get togethers: barbeques around Milo's pool or her favorite, dinner at Catfish Place. She enjoyed catching up with her family and was always ready to share her strong opinions, but filled the room with her encouragement and laughter. She was deeply loved by all.

Ruth Ann Roop

May 12, 1939 - December 11, 2018