Ruth E. Sadeckas

Ruth passed away peacefully on April 26, 2025. She was born in Ohio to Austrian immigrant parents, Anna and Anton Weber. They were a couple who instilled a strong work ethic, frugality, pragmatism and more than a bit of eccentricity into their family. Ruth was the youngest of three siblings and an adopted cousin, Elsie, who she thought of as a sister.

Ruth started working at a very young age. She enjoyed telling stories of slinging sodas at the bingo hall and working on her aunt and uncle’s farm in summer. But her life took a more unique turn when she found that she had a talent for sports. She became a pro bowler on a five women team out of Cleveland, Ohio and they won the international championship title in 1952. She rarely spoke of her accomplishments to others, but we knew she was proud of what she’d achieved.

Keeping with the times within which she lived, her professional bowling career came to an end when she wed her husband Edward in 1956. They were married until he died in 2015. Ruth loved kids and hoped to have a large family. They were blessed with two: Edward, Jr. who passed away in 1990 at the age of 29, and Nancy, who was lucky enough to become Ruth’s best buddy and confidante.

Ruth and Ed spent their early married lives in Ohio, later moving to Missouri and Tennessee. Ruth worked in credit union management, a job she did with pride. The couple spent many memorable years vacationing at the Lake of the Ozarks, spending time with dear friends and relatives — the Kramer’s, Steehn’s, and Johnson’s, along with some of the local lake denizens, were frequent and favorite guests.

Among the things she loved were flowers, music, desserts and reasons to celebrate. She always retained her love of sports and games, particularly enjoying golf, fishing and any competitive challenge. If you played a game with Ruth that involved winning or losing, you were not spared, no matter your age.

Ruth spent the remaining 10 years of her life in Dandridge, Tennessee. She made many dear friends at Hopewell Presbyterian Church, and they became her extended family. Happily, she spent lots of good times with her daughter and beloved son-in-law, Chad.

She lived long enough that she didn’t leave many people behind, but her daughter, son-in-law, cousins, a handful of wonderful nieces and nephews, and local Dandridge friends will miss her dearly. She could make you laugh, she always listened with an empathetic ear and most endearingly, she grew older but always stayed young at heart.

Ruth was charismatic, humble, lovable, generous, resilient, easygoing, appreciative, stubbornly independent and delightfully witty. That was Mom and those are the reasons she will leave such an empty space now that she is no longer with us.

Ruth disliked attention, preferring to focus on those around her. Per her wishes, no formal funeral will be held. (Truth be told, she didn’t even want an obituary but she was overruled. Sorry, Mom!)

A private graveside burial will take place next to her husband and son in Ohio. Her family intends to plan a celebration of her life, as well. She loved a good party so the focus will be on laughter, music and the casual, laid-back atmosphere that Ruth herself preferred. Details will be announced at a later late.

For those interested, donations in her memory can be made to Hopewell Presbyterian Church in Dandridge, Tennessee.