Ruth Amelia Fisher

Ruth Amelia Fisher
September 16, 1914 - May 27, 2013
Kalona, Iowa
Memorial Service: 4:00 PM June 01, 2013 at Kalona Mennonite Church
Visitation: Noon - 3:00 PM June 01, 2013 at Kalona Mennonite Church
Graveside Service: 11:00 AM June 01, 2013 at Sharon Hill Cemetery
Ruth Amelia Fisher, the daughter of Daniel J. and Ida Miller Fisher, was born September 16, 1914 on a farm a few miles north of Kalona. She died at her home in Kalona on May 27, 2013. Ruth was 98 years old. Burial will be in the Sharon Hill Cemetery at 11 am on Saturday, June 1. Visitation will be at Kalona Mennonite from 12-3 pm on June 1 followed by the memorial service at 4 pm. Ruth was baptized at East Union Mennonite Church and became a charter member of Kalona Mennonite Church in 1958 where she was remained a faithful member until her death. She served as an elder and she helped teach the Open Circle Sunday School class until her health prevented her from attending services. Ruth attended Evergreen School in rural Kalona and she graduated from Kalona High School. During the next years, Ruth worked for local families and taught in one-room schools in the Sharon Center area. The financial stress of the Great Depression dashed her dream of studying Latin in college. In 1946, Ruth began serving in Fukou, China as a relief worker with Mennonite Central Committee. She provided material aid to orphans and others who were suffering from the devastation of World War II and the ongoing effects of the civil war between the Chinese nationalists and the Chinese communists. In 1948, she moved to Nanjing, China where she oversaw a refugee camp before returning to Iowa in 1949. After several months at home, she went to Taiwan where she directed the operation of an orphanage operated by the Christian Children's Fund. In 1953, eye problems forced Ruth to return home and she underwent the first cornea transplant in Iowa. She became the first director of the newly formed Eye Bank at the University of Iowa in 1955. As director, she traveled widely and helped build the Eye Bank into a model institution for cornea donations and transplants. She retired from that position in 1983. During her retirement, Ruth served for several months with Mennonite Voluntary Service in San Antonio, Texas where she tutored children and worked in the local food pantry. Ruth lived a remarkable life that took her to many parts of the world but Kalona always remained her home. Her home on H Avenue in Kalona was the gathering place for family and friends. She loved to spend time with people, hosting family get-togethers, tea parties, and card parties that often ran late into the night. Ruth made people feel welcome, approaching life with an optimism and curiosity that brought people together. Her wide circle of friends continued to expand during her entire life. Ruth is survived by a brother, Wallace and wife, Marilyn, of Wellman, Iowa, a sister, Virginia Hershberger, of Goshen, Indiana, and a sister-in-law, Rachel Fisher, of Goshen, Indiana. She is also survived by many nieces, nephews, grand-nieces, grand-nephews, and great-grand-nieces and great-grand-nephews to whom she was devoted and who loved her dearly. Ruth was preceded in death by her parents, her sisters Mabel Mininger, Emma Maust, Lois Yoder, and Pauline Maust; her brothers Ralph, Clifford, and Robert; sisters-in-law Marjorie Fisher, Charlotte Fisher; and Evelyn Fisher; brothers-in-law Edward Mininger, Joe Maust, Dale E. Yoder, Edgar Maust, and Kenneth Hershberger.