Ruth Helen (Fields) Pasko

Ruth Helen (Fields) Pasko, age 96, went home to be with the Lord on Wednesday, November 1, 2023, at Marietta’s Place in Manchester. She was born on November 13, 1926, in Green Bay, Wisconsin, the daughter of John and Lula (Walters) Fields. Ruth graduated from Goodrich High School in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, in May of 1944.

Throughout WWII Ruth corresponded with Jack Pasko, whom she had dated in High School. Upon his return from the war and following a brief courtship, Ruth and Jack were married on June 15, 1946, at First Baptist Church in Fond du Lac. Four children were born to this union: Kurt in 1948, Peggy Ann in 1951, and Kent in 1952. The family moved to Chicago, IL, in 1955, where her husband began 6 years of study to become a Baptist Minister. Their fourth child, a third son, Kerry, was born in Chicago in 1958. Ruth somehow managed to balance homemaking

for her growing family with a full-time job as a switchboard operator at the Sunbeam Corporation. In 1961 the family moved to Fredericksburg, IA, where her husband began serving as a pastor at the Baptist Church. For the next 19 years Ruth was a homemaker, while her husband served the church in Fredericksburg and then churches in Kirkersville and Belpre, Ohio. In 1981, after all the children had left home, the couple moved to Green Lake, Wisconsin, where Jack headed up the maintenance department at the American Baptist Assembly Grounds and Ruth worked at the hotel as a switchboard operator and receptionist. She also served in various capacities with her husband throughout his ministry.

Ruth and Jack retired in 1988 and the couple returned to Belpre, Ohio, were they built a retirement home. Ruth served on the Board of Directors of the American Baptist Churches USA and was a member of the Board of Educational Ministries. She also volunteered at Camden Clark Hospital across the Ohio River in Parkersburg, West Virginia. She was a member of the Lifetime Partners and was an active member of the First Baptist Church in Parkersburg. She also served as a deacon, a member of the Kelly Bible Class, the Women’s Mission Society, and the Ministry Board.

Her husband died in 1991 after a difficult battle with cancer. Ruth remained in their Ohio home and was an active member of her church until 2019, when all three of her sons helped her make the difficult decision to move to Marietta’s Place, a memory care facility in Manchester Iowa, where her son Kurt, a retired Presbyterian minister, served as Chaplain. Ruth passed away peacefully on November 1, just two weeks short of her 97th birthday. The residents and staff members all loved her and remembered her as a quiet, loving, and gentle woman with a delightful sense of humor.

Survivors include her two sons, Kurt and his wife Dulcie Scripture Pasko of Manchester, Iowa and Kent

and his wife Connie Pasko of Kent, Ohio. Four grandchildren: Dulcie III and her husband Todd

Mangold of Manchester, Iowa; Bronson and his wife Deborah Pasko of Simpsonville, South Carolina; Katie Jo

Pasko of Belpre, Ohio; and Alex Jack Pasko and his wife Hannah Pasko of Mayfield, Kentucky; step-grandchildren, Lisa Mehlmann and her husband Mark Pixley, and Kenny and his wife Mae Mehlmann; eleven great-grandchildren and five great-great-grandchildren.

Preceding her in death were her husband Jack, her brothers Walter, Glen, James, John, Hubert; and a much beloved sister Doris; two of her children, Peggy Ann and Kerry Michael Pasko, and one step-grandson Chris Mehlmann.

A Memorial Service and Committal will be held in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin during the early spring of 2024. Her cremains will be interred in the family plot in Rhienzi Cemetery along with those of her daughter Peggy Ann.

A Memorial Fund has been established in Ruth’s memory with all donations going to The Drop Inn Retail Store in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Ruth’s great-granddaughter Hannah Wilson is one of the managers. The merchandise sold in this store is all donated and the sale helps meet clothing and household needs in the neighborhood. Proceeds from the sale of clothing and household items help build schools, feed families, and provide medicine in 32 developing nations around the world. Ruth was so proud of her great-granddaughter’s work for this mission cause. Memorial Gifts may be dropped off or mailed to the Pastor Kurt Pasko, 906 Sherman Avenue, Manchester, Iowa 52057. Make checks payable to the Ruth Pasko Memorial Fund. Write Drop Inn Retail Store on the memo line.

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Ruth Helen (Fields) Pasko, please visit our floral store.