Plymouth, MN - Dureen Ruff (Johnson) left her wonderful life on August 7, 2026, surrounded by her family. She was born in Grand Forks, ND in 1931 and raised by her beloved maternal grandmother, Helen Johnson. She attended the University of North Dakota, Grand Forks, where she earned a Bachelor of Education with an emphasis in art in 1953. Dureen married fellow UND alum, Rick Ruff, in 1956 and moved to Sunnyvale, California while he finished his MBA at Stanford University. They moved to Minnesota in 1957, bought their first house in 1962, and opened their home to Dureen's grandmother for the last three years of Helen's life. They ultimately settled into our family home in Plymouth in 1966, where she lived until 2022. She found her spiritual home at Westminster Presbyterian Church, where she served for many years as a Trustee, Elder, and member of many committees, including the Property Committee that oversaw the church's major expansion in 2018, and the search for an associate pastor in 2012. She also brought her wonderful creativity to the annual Westminster Christmas dinners for many years.

Dureen taught elementary school art in Robbinsdale School District from 1957 until the birth in 1960 of the first of four children. In 1971, she started creating and selling finely crafted miniature furniture, growing her business with orders from stores across the country and trips to exhibit at miniature collector conventions and wholesale events. She was proud to have traveled to all 50 states, and to have made her way as a businesswoman in an era when expectations for a woman's career were limited. Rick was a supportive business partner and when he retired in 1994, he joined Dureen on her travels, where they developed a close group of fellow miniaturist friends. The peak of her creative career was the completion of five elaborate room settings created from converted bird cages. She produced one of these museum quality miniatures each year from 1999-2003, along with a delightful story she wrote about the couple she imagined living in them.

During her journey through life, there were two places that held an enduring appeal, the Grand Tetons in Wyoming, where she and Rick celebrated wedding anniversaries and enjoyed multiple family vacations, and a timber-frame cabin in the woods of northwestern Wisconsin where they frequently hosted friends and the annual "summer camp" for all of their children and grandchildren for nearly two decades. Dureen was an avid traveler, and even as Rick began to suffer from Alzheimer's, she continued to organize trips for the two of them, including an enchanting trip to Paris in the spring of 2008, and an epic six-week car journey that she piloted across the western half of the country in 2012. She also made two trips to Norway, first in 1980 with four cousins, to visit the birthplace of her beloved grandma Helen Johnson, and later on a cruise with Rick.

Dureen lived a life filled with joy and eternal optimism and happy times with countless family and friends. She continued to drive, enjoy the family cabin, and live independently into her early 90s. Dureen left the party of her life — as she lived it — with grace and style. She was preceded in death by her husband Rick and brother John Johnson. She is survived by children, Sue Ruff (Dave) Rygg, Kris Ruff (Greg) Heideman, Steve (Colleen) Ruff and Anne Marie Ruff (Lali) Grewal; as well as eight grandchildren, extended Ruff and Johnson clans, and her dear friend of 60 years, Anita Milnes.

All will miss her open curiosity, boundless positivity, and wonderful hugs. We as a family wish to thank the staff and aides of Amira Choice of Plymouth for the kind and loving care for "Queen Dureen," as she was affectionately known during her residency there. A memorial service and reception will be held at 2pm on Saturday, October 17, 2026, at Westminster Presbyterian Church, 1200 Marquette Avenue. Memorials may be directed to the church.