Bruce Hoverson Ringen

Bruce H. Ringen, 93, was called home to his Savior and eternal life on Sunday, June 16, 2019 after a full life. Bruce was born on May 1, 1926 in Kindred, ND. He often joked that he had not been born but had been delivered to his parents’ porch in a May Day basket.
With his two brothers, Harvey and Marcus, and sister, Wilma, he enjoyed the outdoors and learning new things. After high school, he enlisted in the Navy so that he could help the country win World War II. Unfortunately, he received an almost-immediate medical discharge. However, it allowed him to earn a B.S. in Physics from Concordia College in Moorehead, MN.
Soon thereafter, he obtained a job as a hydrologist with the U.S. Geological Survey that allowed him to walk streams and rivers, taking water samples and analyzing them to understand erosion and natural stream flows in the Midwest and Mountain states. He forever loved the outdoors and being along rivers. A high point in his career was being invited to teach sedimentation for a university in Lahore Pakistan. The six weeks he spent there in the early 1980’s gave him a larger understanding of the world. Thirty eight years of walking in fresh air and covering thousands of miles by foot gave him a deep appreciation of creation.
Early in his career, he married a woman that he had met as a child and loved deeply, Frances. During his 65 year marriage to Frances, they produced three children; Sonja, Bruce and Jeffry. The family moved every three to four years, living in Worland, WY, St. Louis, MO, Salina, KS, Lincoln, NE, Riverton, WY and finally settling in Cheyenne in 1972. After his retirement as a hydrologist, he stayed busy by taking part time jobs that gave him the opportunity to meet many more people and share jokes with them. He also used the time to bicycle many miles around southeast Wyoming.
In all locations, Bruce was active in his church. He continued learning doctrine and theology, reading his Bible every day. It taught him to love his neighbor and he was known for his helpfulness.
He is resting now in the company of his wife, Frances, his parents (Alf and Hannah), his brothers and his sister, cousins, and many colleagues. He is survived by his sister-in-law, Shirley Bradford of Pasco, WA, his daughter, Sonja (husband, Tim Hale) of Laramie, WY, and sons Bruce, of Oakdale, CA, and Jeff of Cheyenne, WY.
The funeral service will be held at Trinity Lutheran Church and School, 1111 East 22nd Street, Cheyenne, WY 82001 on Saturday, June 22, 2019 at 10:00 a.m.
Memorials in the name of Bruce H. Ringen, may be made to Trinity Lutheran Church and School or to Meals on Wheels of Cheyenne, 2015 S. Greeley Highway, Cheyenne, WY 82007.