Janet Ruth, 67, passed away on Saturday, September 13 in Des Moines. She lived her life to the fullest every minute until the very last. Janet raised her three children in Chariton and worked as a nurse in Knoxville at the VA Hospital. In recent years, she was transferred to the Des Moines VA and kept an apartment there to be closer to work. She was born in Kansas City, MO on March 22, 1947 to Charles and Pearl Boyce. She was their oldest child and had 4 younger brothers, Tom, Robert, Gary and Jack. They grew up in Woodland, IA in the country, in a setting that Janet described as "idyllic." Janet got married, left home and started her own family. She had three children, Penney, Robbie and Kelley and after her divorce, she became a single mother who showed her children how far hard work and determination can go. She went to nursing school at Indian Hills Community College in Ottumwa, first for the LPN program and then graduated with her Associates Degree as an RN in 1980. She worked briefly in Chariton before securing her job as an acute psychiatric nurse at the Knoxville VA. Janet had many goals and ambitions. She joined the Army Reserve in 1986 and achieved the rank of Captain. She was called to active duty during Desert Storm and served at Ft. Stewart, GA. She also traveled to Belize and many US destinations with her unit. She was very proud to serve her country. She always wanted to further her education and became a student at the University of Iowa in 1998 to earn her Bachelor's Degree. She graduated from there in 2002 and continued working at the VA for a total of 37 years. She was still employed there at the time of her death. In 1993, Janet was diagnosed with viral cardiomyopathy caused by a virus that affected her heart. She successfully managed this condition for 21 years by taking very good care of herself. Her cause of death was related to this diagnosis. She won two battles against cancer. She was successfully treated for colon cancer at the Mayo Clinic in 2008 and she was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2010 and had a lumpectomy with no recurrence. She remained cancer-free until her death. When recently asked about the three things for which she was most thankful, Janet replied, "My family, my health and my American way of life." Janet is survived by daughters Penney (Randy) Braaksma of Chariton and Kelley (Ron) Deen of Minneapolis, granddaughters Briauna Farrell of Portland, OR and Bailey Deen and grandson Ben Deen of Minneapolis, MN, and brother Jack (Jean) Boyce of Branson, MO. She also leaves behind many loving nieces and nephews, great-nieces and great-nephews, sisters-in-law and cousins. She was preceded in death by parents Charles and Pearl Boyce, brothers Tom, Robert and Gary Boyce, son Robbie Ruth and grandson Nicholas Brady. Pall Bearers: Randy Braaksma, Ron Deen, Travis Boyce, Nathan Boyce, Nick Boyce and Tommy Hitt Honorary Bearers: Ben Deen and Lyle Potter