Ruth Ann Hess

Woodland Hills Funeral Home 507-387-5504

  Ruth Ann Hess, 83, of Mankato, Minnesota, passed away in the Mayo Clinic Hospital in Mankato on Tuesday, June 27, 2023.  She had been a resident at the Oaklawn Rehabilitation Center in Mankato since 2018.  Her husband and son, Christopher, and several of Chris’s children were present in the final hours as she passed into her eternal home with Jesus.

  A Celebration of Ruth’s Life will be on Saturday, August 5, 2023 at 11:00 A.M. at Covenant Family Church, 709 N. Riverfront Dr, Mankato, MN 56001, with Pastor Pat Forbes officiating. Immediately following church services all are invited for a time of lunch and fellowship at the church. The Hess Family will greet friends on Saturday morning from 10:00 A.M. until the hour of services at the church. Woodland Hills Funeral Home of Mankato is assisting the family with arrangements. www.woodlandhillsfh.com

  Ruth Ann was born to Daniel and Viola (Sipe) Meyer in Salisbury, Maryland, in 1939.  After several years the family settled in York, Pennsylvania, where Ruth received her education, graduating high school in 1957, and Junior College in 1961.  She received her LPN license in 1959, and was employed at York Lutheran Home as well as in a number of private homes.  She was faithful in attendance at the York Alliance Church throughout her childhood and into her professional career. In 1967 she attended Nyack Missionary College in Nyack, New York, to prepare for ministry. There she met her future husband, Philip Hess. They were wed in 1969 at her home church in York, Pennsylvania. She and her husband lived in New York for a few years during which time they welcomed their son, Christopher, into the family.  They then returned to York in 1973 to care for her father and sister, both of whom had serious health problems. Ruth felt it was her responsibility to be there for them, so they merged households and settled in Dover near the city of York.  Later they moved to New Freedom in southern York County and became charter members of Glenview Alliance Church. Ruth and Philip adopted Rosalee in 1984. The family moved to Kansas City in 1986, then relocated to Camden, Arkansas, to be closer to Lake Hamilton Bible Camp in Hot Springs, Arkansas, where they had been involved for several years. Ruth had to give up her nursing career in 1991, due to allergic reactions to the soap.  She was then offered an elementary teaching position at the school in their home church, Victory Church. She thrived as a teacher, loving and caring for her pupils and finding much fulfillment in this new endeavor. In 2001 Ruth and Phil moved to the Mankato area to be near Christopher and his family, settling in Good Thunder, Minnesota. It was a great joy to care for and be near her five grandchildren. Over several years, Ruth’s health declined to where she needed part-time help at home and ultimately required full-time care at Oaklawn Rehabilitation Center. After a major surgery she was confined to a wheelchair.  God gave her several more years to be a comfort to her husband and to enjoy the weddings of three of her grandchildren, as well as the marriage of Christopher to a lovely woman, Leanne, after his being single for twenty years.  She was delighted to meet her twin great-grandsons during that final year of her life.

  Ruth Ann is survived by husband, Philip Hess; son, Christopher (Leanne) Hess of Mankato; daughter, Rosalee (Nicholas) Lunsford of York, Pennsylvania; nine grandchildren; and six great-grandchildren. 

  She was preceded in death by her parents, Daniel and Viola Meyer; and sister, Judith E. Meyer.

2 Timothy 4:7–8 (Amplified) I have fought the good and worthy and noble fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith [firmly guarding the gospel against error]. In the future there is reserved for me the [victor’s] crown of righteousness [for being right with God and doing right], which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that [great] day—and not to me only, but also to all those who have loved and longed for and welcomed His appearing.

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