Ruth Ann Mae Knutson

LANCASTER – Ruth Ann Mae (Reynolds) Knutson, age 87, of Lancaster, Wisconsin, passed away on Tuesday, February 28, 2023, at Park Place Assisted Living in Platteville.

Ruth was born on October 9, 1935, and raised on the family farm in Potosi, WI. She was the youngest child, and only daughter, of Paul and Edna (Wentz) Reynolds. Older brothers, Francis, Edward, and Eugene made sure the only daughter of the family held her own.

Ruth loved animals and would ride on the work horses whenever possible in her early years. She was thrilled, after much coaxing, to be given permission to get a dog for the farm. She also had pet squirrels that she rescued. Later in life she had fond memories of driving Bruce’s horse and buggy or sleigh, and pony cart.

She grew up attending a country school with many of her cousins. She spoke often, in her later years, of walking quite a distance to school in all types of weather. Ruth attended and graduated from Lancaster High School in 1954.

She met the love of her life, Sherman Knutson, at the Rockville Dance Hall in 1953 and they were married on December 26, 1953, in Potosi. They both loved to dance, especially to country music, and that continued throughout their married lives. At any celebration they could be seen on the dance floor moving in rhythm with the music.

Early in their marriage they rented a farm near Platteville, WI. They welcomed their first child, a daughter, while living there. After realizing farming was not financially in their future, they moved to Lancaster, WI., where Ruth worked at Loudspeaker Component Corporation for a time. They welcomed a son in 1960. Ruth wanted to continue her education, so she attended Southwest Technical School in Fennimore, WI, and earned a degree in bookkeeping and accounting. She worked for several years at the Lancaster State Bank and later at Phillips Ag in Lancaster. She retired from Phillips Ag and for several more years worked for the Lancaster School District as a study hall aide at the high school and as a kindergarten aide at Winskill Elementary. She especially enjoyed having her grandkids, Ben, Megan, and Andrea in her study halls.

Ruth loved to travel, and she and Sherman took several trips with friends. They visited Washington, D.C., New York City, Hawaii, Las Vegas and went on several cruises.

She loved her grandchildren and great grandchildren. She followed her grandchildren through high school and college sports. She became an expert in basketball, football, swimming, cross country, track, baseball, and volleyball. When her great grandchildren visited, she would always be very happy. She even traveled to Florida and Arizona to visit her first 2 great grandchildren Isaiah and Anaiah.

Ruth also enjoyed gambling. She had a number of pictures showing her slot machine jackpots. No pictures of her losses, though.

Ruth was preceded in death by her husband, Sherman; her parents; and her brothers.

She is survived by daughter, Laura (Bruce) Gibson; and son, Perry (Lynn) Knutson. She has six grandchildren: Scott (Emily) Gibson, Kerry Gibson, Caitlin Gibson, Ben (Kara) Knutson, Megan Knutson, and Andrea (Marc) Stern. She has five great-grandchildren: Isaiah Gibson (12), Anaiah Gibson (10), Hayzen Knutson (5), Holden Knutson (3), and Freya Bender (3).

A Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Saturday, March 4, 2023, at 11:00 a.m. at St. Clement Catholic Church, Lancaster, with Father William Vernon officiating. Burial will be in Rock Church Cemetery, Clifton Township, rural Livingston. Visitation will be held on Friday, March 3, 2023, at Martin Schwartz Funeral Home & Crematory in Lancaster from 4:00 p.m. until 6:00 p.m. and on Saturday from 10:00 a.m. until time of services at the church. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Alzheimer’s Association.