Ruth McCabe

On June 2nd, 1937, Ruth was born. Her mother, Helen, was an amazing teacher and
 father, Claude, a salt of the earth Nebraska farmer. Helen went into labor quickly at
 their home near Walthill, Nebraska. With the help of Claude, Helen safely gave birth to a
 beautiful baby girl. Helen and Claude were delighted to welcome their fifth baby, Ruth
 Ellen Marr, into the world. Ruth was the youngest child in the Marr family. Her early
 years consisted of lots of time outside with her siblings: Jane, Bruce, Warren and Hugh.
 Ruth enjoyed playing hide and seek, paper dolls, dress up, tea party, and riding her
 horse. She completed many chores on the farm such as gathering eggs, and assisting
 her mother in the garden. She also helped care for the lambs on the farm. When
 the lambs matured, the family would sell them which helped Ruth and her siblings pay
 their college tuition. She attended the Martin School, the North Ward School and a
 Catholic boarding school during her childhood.

 In 1954, Ruth graduated from Rosalie high school. She went on to attend Wayne State
 College to advance her education and become one step closer to achieving her dream
 of becoming a kindergarten teacher. Her high school sweetheart, Gary Tessmer, served
 in the Army branch of the military in 1954 and 1955, which limited their communication
 to letter writing. Soon, Gary returned home from Okinawa, Japan, and started a life with
 Ruth on their wedding day: May 28, 1956.

 Ruth and Gary started a family of their own soon after they were married. Their firstborn
 son, Kevin, was born in 1957, closely followed by Scott in 1958, Mark in 1966 and Brian
 in 1968. Baby Brian was born with a rare heart condition, and died at the age of eight
 months. Ruth and Gary mourned the death of their youngest and opened their
 hearts to new beginnings and change. Gary was offered a job as the assistant
 superintendent at a school in Carroll, Iowa, and the family moved to take advantage of
 this opportunity. Ruth fell in love with the charm of Carroll, and made it her home for the
 next 46 years, from 1968 to 2014. There, Ruth and Gary made many memories: raising
 a family and establishing their careers in a quaint Iowa town. In 1978, Gary died
 unexpectedly from an aneurysm. This left Ruth and her youngest son
 Mark, alone at home, as Kevin and Scott had already started college.

 After the loss of Gary, one of Ruth's close friends encouraged her to attend some social
 functions. She invited her to spend time at a cabin at Lake Okoboji. During this trip, she
 was introduced to Dr. Frank McCabe, who also lived in Carroll, at a group dinner. Ruth
 and Frank had an instant connection, and he asked her out on a date the next week.
 Within months, the two were engaged. Frank, similar to Ruth, had lost his wife Alice
 McCabe to cancer at a youthful age. Frank and Ruth were married in a small ceremony
 on September 6, 1980. This new union allowed Ruth's family to grow, as marrying Frank
 gave her a new step-daughter: Mary McCabe Guynan and step-son: Michael McCabe.
 She was incredibly proud of her new extended family. Frank and Ruth enjoyed many
 happy years of traveling, coffee groups, church functions, bike riding and family
 celebrations together.

 Ruth was a social butterfly -- she loved spending time with close friends, playing cards,
 coffee dates and traveling. After devoting 30 years of her life to teaching children, Ruth
 retired at age 55 which allowed her and Frank to see the world. They traveled to many
 states and countries, visited her son Kevin in Seattle often, and experienced countless
 memorable adventures and bus trips. Ruth visited Oahu, Hawaii in 2017, which allowed
 her to check off all 50 US states on her traveling bucket list.  She cherished her travels
 with Frank.

 According to Ruth, her family gave her the greatest possible joy in life. Ruth loved being
 a part of family milestones: birthdays, celebrations, weddings and births. Her eight
 grand children, and fourteen great-grand children, always made her beam with pride!

 Ruth described her perfect day, at this stage of her life, as: waking up early, sipping
 coffee, reading the newspaper and completing the puzzle. She would spend the
 afternoon enjoying nature and tending to the flowers on her deck, one of her favorite
 peaceful spaces to spend time. Her perfect evening would include dinner with her
 family, and visiting with them as long as the conversation didn't become "too political". 
 Her day would conclude with a hot shower and reading a book in bed before turning the
 light out.
 
 Ruth's faith always remained paramount and the true center of her life. She attended daily mass,
 participated in parish groups, prayed unfailingly, and was devoted to the Blessed Mother
 and prayed the Rosary daily. From a very young age, she learned that by leaning on her faith during all the challenges of life, she could overcome anything. Her positive outlook on life helped motivate and encourage so many people around her. She was a devoted wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, and friend who showed others how to love. She freely gave her time and talents to her community. At her core, she demonstrated her spiritual faith and devotion to the Blessed Mother.

Preceded in death by first husband, Gary Tessmer; husband, Dr. Frank McCabe; infant son, Brian; siblings, Jane Bring, Bruce Marr, Warren Marr, Hugh Marr. Survived by sons, Kevin Tessmer, Scott (Terri) Tessmer, Mark Tessmer; stepchildren, Mary Alice (Bob) Guynan, Fr. Mike McCabe; grandchildren, Matt (Nikki) Guynan, Mandy (Brett) Yahnke, John (Jenna) Guynan, Pat (Jordan) Tessmer, Megan (Drew) Vermeer, Molly (Nick) Dotzler, Brian Tessmer, Emma Tessmer; great-grandchildren, Caden, Jack, Sophi, Finn, Jackson, Elli, Lily, Foster, Mary Claire, Reagan, Leo, Theo, Graham, James; loving nieces, nephews and other family.

Donations, in memory of Ruth, are encouraged to the The Servants of Mary, whose
 mission is to manifest God's compassionate presence in the spirit of
 Mary: https://osms.org/donate-to-servants-of-mary/