Ruth (Nygaard) Schwenkert

Ruth Ann (Nygaard) Schwenkert, age 90, died peacefully at home on September 29 after a long period of declining health.  She was born in Madison on December 12, 1929, the daughter of Paul and Thelma (Johnson) Nygaard, and was a lifelong resident of the capital city.  She graduated from West High School in 1947 and was married to Robert E. “Bob” Schwenkert for 48 years until his death in 1998.  She was predeceased by her sister, Jeanne Bloom, and her brother, Richard Nygaard.  She is survived by her two daughters, Patricia Little (Douglas) and Barbara Schwenn (Rodney Umlas), four grandchildren—Colin, Kerry (Matthew Kresl), Alison, and Kevin (Felicia Durni), five great grandchildren, and four nieces and nephews.

Known affectionately to her family as “Gaca,” Ruth was a gourmet cook who loved to knit and sew.  She was descended from Norwegian immigrants and took enormous pride in that heritage, recalling fondly the summers she spent on the family farm in Door Country during the 1930s and 1940s.  She and Bob loved to travel and made frequent trips to Kennebunkport, Maine, where they dined on lobster and admired the fall foliage.   In her later years, she liked to visit Ho-Chunk and other casinos in southern Wisconsin, where she always claimed to have won more than she lost.

Gaca relished her role as family matriarch.  She held strong opinions about many things and was never bashful about sharing them with family and friends.  The world will be a much less interesting place with her passing.

A private memorial service will be held at a time when it is safer for family members to travel.  Memorial contributions may be made to the Dane County Humane Society or the Madison Cat Project.