Helen M Ruffing

Helen Margaret Ruffing passed away on Sunday, July 6, 2025. She left this world exactly as she lived in it-unselfishly and peacefully with her top-notch guardian angel looking over her.

Just last summer Helen was twirling a baton in a parade in Port Huron, a skill she loved having in her back pocket and one that started back in the small town in Wisconsin where she grew up. She was born on May 13, 1945 in Johnsburg, Wisconsin. Helen told stories about growing up in the taverns her parents owned, ice-skating under the lights, vacationing at Lake Winnebago, and of course her high school and college summers working at a resort. She was a hard worker, easily moving from housekeeping to waitressing and even the water-skiing entertainment. Helen took the term fun-loving very seriously and would later encourage her four children to do the same.

Helen graduated from Mount Mary College in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and then joined the Red Cross and promised her dad that she wouldn’t go to Vietnam, so she went to South Korea. It was there that she met Con Ruffing who was serving in the Army and they married in 1969. They lived in Norwalk, Ohio before relocating to Port Huron, Michigan in 1975. Helen was a devout and faithful Catholic. Over the years, Helen volunteered and was involved with countless charitable endeavors: Innovative Housing, International Symphony Orchestra, Catholic Social Services, Port Huron Hospital’s Festival of Trees, to name just a few…the number of lives she touched and organizations she impacted speaks to her limitless generosity. It was in real estate where she thrived professionally, working for and later owning Home Towne Realty as an agent and a broker. Every customer was treated like family and many lasting friendships were formed through her work.

Helen’s family loved holidays at her house where at Christmastime she would pull out presents for days and in recent years started a laughter-filled “white elephant” game where all the treasures came from her. Helen loved playing games and taught all her grandchildren to play chess. Cards were her favorite, especially bridge with her dear friends.

Helen loved her birthday and would proudly display the stacks of cards she received-and there were stacks. She had so many friends and people who loved her that one of her dozen beloved grandchildren called her “Famous Grandma” because it seemed everyone in town knew her. The sign she displayed that “Being Nice Matters” and the advice she passed on frequently to “do the best you can with the resources you have at the time” is how she lived her life. There are not enough superlatives to summarize the strength and grace of this incredible woman.

Family was everything to Helen and missing her most are her four children, CJ Ruffing, Jen Douglas (Steve), Edward Ruffing (Kelly), Margaret Morris (Mark); twelve “above average” grandchildren, Riley, Nick, Max, Katie, Finn, Cameron, Macauley, Zoe, Lucas, Lexie, Sam, and Hadley. She is also survived by her sister, Kay (Jack) Stellpflug; and sister-in-law, Gloria Krebsbach. She was preceded in death by her parents, Dorothy and Edward Krebsbach; and her brother, Bernard Krebsbach.

Visitation will be held from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 5-8 p.m. on Wednesday, July 23, 2025 in Karrer-Simpson Funeral Home.

A Funeral Mass will be held at 10:30 a.m. on Thursday, July 24, 2025 in St. Mary Catholic Church with visitation beginning at 9:30 a.m. The Reverend Lee Acervo will officiate.

Inurnment will be in the Mt. Hope Cemetery Columbarium, Port Huron.

To send condolences, visit karrersimpson.com