Henrietta Frances Ruef Dill passed away on February 11, 2024. She was born on December 31st, 1943 in Silverton Oregon, to Placidus and Anna Marie Ruef.

Henri, as she like to be called, was born with deformed legs. The doctors said that she would never walk or have children and should be institutionalized, but her mother decided what was best and took her home. It was the love and support of her family that gave her the "can-do" attitude to succeed in life.

Henri was raised on a farm in Mount Angel on "Ruef Lane". Henri spent a lot of time at Shriners Hospital for Children to give her the opportunity to live the life she wanted. She even received her first pair of artificial legs from them and instantly grew 19 inches taller overnight! This allowed her to walk and it opened up the many possibilities that she would realize in her future.

Henri was studying journalism at Seattle University in 1964 when she met Ernest Dill on July 5th, on a Greyhound bus. They exchanged phone numbers and about six months later they were married on December 26, 1964 at Saint Mary's church in Mount Angel.

In 1965 Herni left college and joined Ernie on their 20 year military career. During this time, they raised a family of 5 children and lived in three countries and many states. Due to Henri's entrepreneurial spirit, and making use of her journalism background, she formed a company called "Angel Press" and published magazines at the various military bases where they were stationed. In the beginning Henri wrote and edited all of the stories. By her own admission, she had a nose for a story, and could write it, but couldn't spell, "because there were editors for that". She also sold all the ads to support her magazines, with her children being the "labor" in this endeavor.

As if all of that wasn't enough to keep her busy, she found time to be published in a book titled "The Synergists" which catapulted her motivational speaking career.

After retiring from the military in 1984, they moved back to Oregon. After 22 years of journalism, Henri was tired of deadlines, and knew she wanted to do something else, so with Ernie, they opened Engelberg Antiks in Mount Angel, Oregon's first "Antique Mall". The next year they opened Engelberg Antiks II in downtown Salem. Henri created and successfully operated Engelberg Antiks II for the next 35+ years, but was involved in the business her whole life.

In 2006, Henri and Ernie decided to replace the Engelberg Antiks building in Mount Angel with the "Edelweiss Village", a mix of low-income housing and commercial properties. This dream came true with the help of many community members. Henri had a vision to preserve Mount Angel's heritage by including a Glockenspeil tower. The tower is comprised of life-sized wooden figures, carved by community members, dancing about, an attraction that draws people from all over the states.

Henri absolutely loved the Mount Angel community and was deeply involved in many of the town's organizations and had a significant impact.

A full life well lived, she will be missed by her children Lori (Randy) of Mount Angel, Bryant (Pamela) Dill of DuPont Way, Washington, Lena Dill of Mount Angel and Traci (Tony) Buller of Silverton, grandsons Jonathan, William and Alex Lathrop, granddaughter Miki Dill, grandsons Kyle Dill, and Brogan, Dalton, and Grayson Buller, and her brother Max (Marlene) along with many nieces and nephews.

She was preceded in death by her parents, her brother Clem (Maria), sister Marie, brother Pete (Jean) and her sister Gloria, her son Henry (Hank) and grandsons Thomas and Taylor Lathrop and her husband Ernie.

Funeral services will be held at Saint Mary's Catholic Church in Mount Angel on Tuesday February 20th, there will be viewing at 9:30 AM, Rosary at 10:30 AM and Mass at 11:00 AM, to follow will be a celebration of life at the St. Mary's Church Parish Center.

Henri was an advocate for Shriners her whole life and gave inspirational speeches on their behalf. In lieu of flowers, donations made be made directly to "Shriners Children's Portland", for any checks, please list "In Memory of Henrietta Dill" in the Memo line.

Shriners Children's Portland Attn: Office of Philanthropy 3101 SW Sam Jackson Park Rd Portland, OR 97239