Ruth Frances Billman, age 94, of Batesville, Indiana, passed away on August 18, 2026, at Margaret Mary Health. She was born on February 11, 1932, in Morris, Indiana, the daughter of Mary Johanna (Grossman) and Louis J. Weisenbach. She married Eugene J. Billman on October 23, 1954, at St. Anthony of Padua Catholic Church in Morris, Indiana. He preceded her in death on December 2, 2013.
She worked at the Batesville State Bank from 1950-1955. Her kids lost track of how many times she told them how she started working at the bank part-time when she was in high school and resigned to have her first baby. From 1974-1986 she worked part-time at the local Montgomery Ward store (later became Sears).
She was a faithful member of St. Louis Catholic Church. Faith and family were more important to her than fame and fortune. Looking back on her days as a young mother, she often said, “As long as my kids were taken care of, I never worried; I trusted that everything else would take care of itself.” She made sure all five children attended every swimming lesson available. When the kids were in elementary school, she made sure they regularly went to the library and assigned homework every summer. Family vacations involved camping in state parks.
When her children were young, she made many of their pajamas, dresses, shirts, etc. and many Barbie doll clothes. Mom spent many hours in a hot, steamy kitchen in the summer, canning all the vegetables that dad gathered in five-gallon buckets from his garden. She always cooked from scratch. (If you haven’t picked up on this by now, mom and dad did everything they could to save a penny.)
She worked many hours as a volunteer for the Batesville Beautification League and the St. Louis Church bereavement committee, working at funeral Masses and making dishes for funeral lunches. She was a Eucharistic minister at The Waters nursing home for many years and delivered Holy Communion to shut-ins.
She made numerous craft items for the Country Store at the St. Louis church festival. Some people made a point to look for her name on the label. She always did her share of baking for the festival and bingo nights. For the St. Louis Church Haiti ministry, she used colorful pillowcases to sew dresses for little girls in Haiti. Mom loved to sew. She lived to sew! If mom had been locked up in a room for a year with nothing but a sewing machine, she would have been perfectly happy.
Mom was generous to a fault. She was very committed to financially supporting St. Louis School and was very grateful for the values and knowledge her children acquired at SLS. After dad died (he only let go of a dollar bill to get a better grip), she wrote out many checks (for small amounts; she wasn’t wealthy) to many charities. She may have been on the mailing list of nearly every charity in America, judging by the mail in her overflowing mailbox.
Her favorite TV program was Late Night with David Letterman. Her son, Dale, treated her to a trip to New York to attend his show in September 1998. She also took several memorable trips with her daughters, Lynn and Kay, with multiple trips to Branson Missouri – her favorite destination.
One of her favorite sayings was, “You can raise a child by the book, if you have a different book for each child.” Although each child was different, she did her best to be fair. No matter what their activity or their goal, she cheered them on and provided what she could to make their dreams come true.
She always had a cheerful disposition and made visitors in her home feel warmly welcomed, be they friends of her children or one of her own friends. She never met a stranger and made friends easily. She just loved to talk….and talk…and talk.
She is survived by sons Brent Billman of Hamilton, OH; Dale (Kristen) Billman of Indianapolis, IN, Luke Billman of Madison, MS; daughters Lynn (Don) Howe of Grand Rapids, MI and Kay Lohmeier of East Peoria, IL; brother Raymond “Ray” Weisenbach of Morris and sister Edwina Ertel of Batesville; sisters-in-law Joan and Eleen Weisenbach, both of Batesville. She loved her eight grandchildren dearly (probably more than her children): Tyler Howe (Lynn’s), Austin and Q. Steven Lohmeier and Cassie (Lohmeier) McKinney (Kay’s), Kyle Billman and Katie (Billman) Lawler (Dale’s), and Callie and Mathis Billman (Luke’s); great grandchildren Alexander, Noah, and Jordan Lohmeier, Johanna, Miley and Nolan McKinney, Kai and Valentina Billman.
In addition to her parents and husband, she was preceded in death by her brothers Richard “Rich” Weisenbach (Joan) and Andrew “Andy” Weisenbach (Eleen), brother-in-law Dan Ertel (Edwina) and sister-in-law Rosie Weisenbach (Ray).
After she suffered a stroke in June 2020, mom moved to an assisted living facility, The Chateau of Batesville. Being a social butterfly, mom loved the place. Mom told us maybe one million times, “Oh, I just love it here! I don’t have to cook, and the food is really good!” The Billman family expresses our profound gratitude to every member of the Chateau staff for enabling mom to live her last years in comfort, security, and dignity.
We are also grateful for the caring, compassionate and committed professionals who cared for mom during several admissions to Margaret Mary Health over the last few years. Finally, we thank the Emergency Medical Services division of the Batesville Fire Department for their outstanding service. Mom did her best to keep them busy (feel needed) with quite a few ambulance rides to the hospital in her last years.
Our heartfelt gratitude goes to all the great people and organizations who make Batesville a very special place.
Please pray for the repose of mom’s soul, and the souls of your own loved ones who have passed on to eternal life.
Visitation is Wednesday, August 26th, from 10:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m., at Weigel Funeral Home in Batesville. A Mass of Christian Burial will follow at 1:00 p.m., at St. Louis Catholic Church, with Fr. Shaun Whittington officiating. The burial will be at St. Louis Cemetery.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Lil Kennel Endowment Fund for St. Louis School. If unable to attend the visitation, donations can be sent to Weigel Funeral Home, PO Box 36, Batesville, Indiana 47006. For online condolences, please go to www.weigelfh.com.