Joan Faye Ruddell

Joan Ruddell, 77, of Mt. Pleasant and formerly of Shepherd passed away Sunday, Oct. 4, 2015, at home. A Funeral Mass for Joan will be celebrated at 1 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 8 at Sacred Heart Catholic Church with Father Loren Kalinowski presiding. Burial will be in Calvary Cemetery with a luncheon to follow at Charles R. Lux Family Funeral Home. The family will receive friends at Charles R. Lux Family Funeral Home on Wednesday from 4-8 p.m. with a Vigil and Rosary service beginning at 7:30 p.m. Visitation continues at the church on Thursday one hour prior to Mass. Memorial contributions may be made to Commission on Aging. Envelopes are available at the funeral home. Joan was born June 1, 1938, in Alma, daughter of the late John and Esther (Kirkconnell) Murray. She graduated from Shepherd High School in 1956 and worked for Dow Chemical as a secretary from 1956-1964. On Sept. 5, 1964, she married William B. Ruddell at St. Vincent DePaul Catholic Church in Shepherd. While raising four children, Joan managed the books of Ruddell Engineering a task that overtook the familys kitchen table every pay period. From 1990-2000, Joan also worked as a secretary at Central Michigan University. She had been a member of St. Vincent DePaul Parish until 1993 where she played the organ, beginning at age 12. She has been a member of Sacred Heart Parish since 1993. Joan loved spending time with her friends and family especially traveling to see her grandchildren in their numerous activities. Once Bill coerced her onto an airplane, she enjoyed their travels most recently a trip to Hawaii. Prior to her 50th birthday party and parade, she celebrated her friends landmark birthdays in a very special way. Joan will be greatly missed by her husband of 51 years, Bill Ruddell; four children, Anne (Ken) Hall of Traverse City, Mary (Jim) Crawley of Allendale, John (Jennifer) Ruddell of St. Joseph, and Peter (Caroline) Ruddell of East Lansing; and 11 grandchildren, Catherine, Grace, Mackenzie, and Charles Hall, Alex and Andrew Crawley, Baylee, Izak, and Grant Ruddell, and Elisabeth and Nora Ruddell. She was preceded in death by her parents; and sister, Frances Murray.