Fisher, Ruth Amelia

Ruth Amelia Fisher, the daughter of Daniel J. and Ida Miller Fisher, was born Sept. 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 a.m. Saturday, June 1. Visitation will be from noon to 3 p.m. Saturday at Kalona Mennonite Church, followed by the memorial service at 4 p.m.

Ruth was baptized at East Union Mennonite Church and became a charter member of Kalona Mennonite Church in 1958. 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, providing material aid to refugees. In 1948, she moved to Nanjing, China, where she oversaw a refugee camp before going to Taiwan in 1950 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. 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 of Wellman, Iowa; a sister, Virginia Hershberger, of Goshen, Ind.; and a sister-in-law, Rachel Fisher, of Goshen, Ind.

She is also survived by many nieces, nephews, grandnieces, grandnephews and great-grandnieces and great-grandnephews to whom she was devoted and who loved her dearly.

Ruth was preceded in death by her parents and her siblings, Ralph, Clifford, Mabel Mininger, Emma Maust, Robert, Lois Yoder and Pauline Maust.

The Yoder-Powell Funeral Home in Kalona is in charge of the arrangements.

Messages may be sent to the family at .

Published in The Gazette May 29, 2013.