Ruth Ada Fattig

Ruth Ada Fattig died in San Diego on Sunday, March 16, 2014, at the age of 90. She was born Dec. 10, 1923, in McCook Neb., the daughter of Mabel and Fred Roggensees. She spent her youth in McCook, growing up next door to Harvey Cavell Fattig, her future husband. She moved to a farm near Nevada, Mo., with her parents, her sister Betty, and her brother Doug, when she was 13, and graduated from Walker High School.

After the war broke out in 1941, Ruth moved to Washington, D.C., where she worked as a secretary for the Veterans Administration. She eventually got a position as an assistant on the air base in McCook where she could be near friends and family for the duration of the war. Her future husband began sending her letters from war zones, and ultimately proposed to her in one of those letters. They were married in Oberlin, Kan., when Cavell was on leave in 1944, and were married for 52 years.

Ruth moved to San Diego in 1957. She worked for the U.S. Postal Service until her retirement in 1983. She was a member of Our Redeemer Lutheran Church. Ruth loved her kids and grandkids; taking them to the San Diego Zoo over the last 55 years was her favorite pastime. She loved baseball and was proud to be a fan and season ticket holder for the San Diego Padres.

She lost her son, Steven, in 1978, and her beloved, Cavell, in 1996. She is survived by her son, Richard Fattig, of Sacramento; her daughter, Kathleen Winer, of Poway; her grandsons, Jeff Fattig, of Sacramento, and Jason Winer, of San Diego; her granddaughters, Jessica Winer, of San Diego, and Ashley Fattig, of San Francisco; and her sister, Betty Shirley, of Nevada, Mo. Services were held on Friday, March 21, 2014, at Greenwood Mortuary in San Diego.