Norbert A. Von Ruden

Norbert A. Von Ruden, 92, passed away peacefully Sunday, May 22, 2016 in Fountain Hills.

Norbert was born in Claremont Township, Dodge County, Minn. June 5, 1923, the youngest son of Joseph and Anna (Marsolek) Von Ruden. He attended a rural school and graduated from Claremont High School in 1941.

Following high school, Norbert learned the welding trade at an NYA (National Youth Administration) training school in Shakopee, Minn. The NYA program provided room and board, vocational training and part-time work which paid $0.28 per day. He was hired by Butler Manufacturing Company in Minneapolis as a Welder where he helped support the war effort welding metal sections used to construct housing for the United States military.

In 1946 Norbert returned to Claremont and started a small business with his older brother, Raymond. What became Von Ruden Manufacturing Company began in an 8 by 10 shed on their parent’s farm where they designed a tractor powered chain saw that eliminated the back-breaking work of felling trees with a cross cut saw.

They began to sell their invention to other farmers and expanded their products to include a line of hydraulic pumps and motors still sold and used around the world today.

Norbert has been retired since 1975 spending time with his wife, Jewel, at their home in Fountain Hills and Owatonna, Minn.

In his younger years Norbert was an avid fisherman. He also was a private pilot and owned and operated his own airplane for many years. Recently, he enjoyed woodworking and developed a reputation for his hand painted Road Runners, Cardinals, Orioles and other birds.

Norbert is survived by his wife Jewel (Peters) of 69 years and three children, Daglin (Mary) of Golden Valley, Minn., Timothy (Carmen) of Claremont, Minn. and Susan (John Grady) of Nashville, Tenn. He is also survived by seven grandchildren, Erin, Kelly, Shannon, Joseph, Karina, Holly and Macy and two great-grandchildren, Finley and Maxwell as well as numerous nieces and nephews.

Norbert is preceded in death by his parents; two brothers, Raymond, and Howard; a sister, Loretta (Ackland); an infant daughter, Susan Kathleen and daughter Paulette Marie.

Mass of Christian burial was held Thursday, June 2, at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Owatonna, Minn. Interment followed at Rice Lake Cemetery, Claremont Township, Minn.

Memorials are preferred to the American Heart Association or the American Lung Association. Online condolences may be expressed by visiting the website brick-megerfuneralhome.com.