Ruth Loretta McNamara (nee Burckardt), a woman who cared deeply for family, joined Jesus and her family in heaven April 30, 2015. Born in Milwaukee July 23, 1918 to Agnes (nee Dieringer) and Adolf Burckardt, she was a proud graduate of Messmer High School also attending a business college for a short time. She then worked for the Milwaukee Journal/Sentinel and loved her work there.
Love of music and movies was a thread weaving throughout Ruth’s life. It led her to play piano in her youth and to join the Young Women’s Symphonic Chorus in her twenties. She loved Hollywood musicals and westerns featuring the “old greats” and passed on the love of music to her daughter.
Ruth enjoyed adventure but family came first. In her twenties, she helped her aunt and uncle, Ben (LaRue) Dieringer, start up the Big Rock Candy Mountain Resort near Marysvale, Utah. Spending several years “out west,” she never lost the magnetism and magic of the mountains and returned on many family trips. She also helped her aunt and uncle, Leo (Sophia) Dieringer, at their establishment called The Dutch Mill, just north of Kewaskum on Hwy 45. It was there that she met the love of her life, Sylvester “Skeeter” McNamara.
After marriage, Ruth and Skeeter lived a short time in Campbellsport where they welcomed a daughter into their lives. They later settled in Kewaskum and welcomed a son who was diagnosed with Downs Syndrome. Challenged to find the best place to care for him, it was during this time that Ruth found her true calling becoming the ultimate caregiver for her family. She put them above all else. Providing a loving, happy, stable and clean home was her mission. As her little girl grew, Ruth returned to the work force waitressing and making many friends at Campbell’s Village Inn in Kewaskum.
Family gatherings, card club with dear friends, hiking in the Kettle Moraine to search for the elusive morel mushroom, and crocheting gave this spunky, agile, loving woman great joy and contentment.
Keeping Ruth’s love, warmth and memory alive are her husband of 59 years, Sylvester “Skeeter” McNamara, her daughter and son-in-law, Mary (James) Wittmann, and the light of her life – beloved grandson, Tyler. Sisters-in-law Sylvia McNamara, Betty Otten and Alice Taylor join in cherishing her memory.
Welcoming her to her eternal life and home will be her son, Thomas “Tommy”, who has been patiently waiting for his mommy for so very long. Also waiting to greet her will be her parents, her sister and brother-in-law, Ethel (George) Schommer, her brother Thomas, brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law Lucille (Gene) Stanchfield, Patrick McNamara, Gordon McNamara, John McNamara, Leo “Whitey” Otten, Glen Taylor, and many nieces, nephews and cousins.
Visitation will be held Saturday, May 9, 2015 from 10am to 12:30pm at Holy Trinity Parish in Kewaskum. A Mass of Christian Burial immediately will follow with Fr. Ed Konrath officiating. Burial will be at St. Matthews Cemetery in Campbellsport.
The McNamara and Wittmann families thank their “family” at Kettle Moraine Gardens Memory Unit for the loving, nurturing care they’ve given Ruth the last three and a half years. Words cannot express how invaluable their support has been.