Patricia “Pat” L. Ruegger

Patricia “Pat” L. Ruegger, 84, Mount Horeb/Ojibwa/Dodgeville/Cornell, grabbed her knitting bag and ran through Heaven’s gates, Wednesday, Oct. 11, 2023. No one will wander around Heaven, without a warm hat, mittens or socks, this fall and winter! Pat was born June 7, 1939, the eighth of 10 children, to Jack and Mildred Ellis, of Cornell. She learned to knit, sitting on her grandfather’s lap, when she was four years old and spent her life making fabulous things to keep her loved ones warm. If her knitting didn’t make you happy, she’d bake you something – at least twice a week! Pat managed the bakery at Dick’s Supermarket in Dodgeville, for many years, and perfected her cake decorating skills. She was also magical with plants and her husband often accused her of transforming their home into a jungle; he wasn’t too far off. In her later years, Pat started building dollhouses and meticulously created each of her children’s homes, in miniature. Her love of antique dishes outgrew every cabinet in her home and sometimes found its way into bedroom closets. Pat was rarely far from a Diet Coke, on ice, and in emergencies, ice cream – real ice cream, not soft-serve – could get her through...that and a Vera Bradley bag...or 10, with matching wallets. She is survived by her devoted and endlessly patient husband – Marshall; children – Rebecca (Darryl) Mataya, Mount Horeb, Jody (Leisa) Jensen, Hayesville, N.C., Jim Jensen, Eau Claire, Sara Ruegger (Adam) Pollock, Mount Horeb, and Sammi (Jesse) Korinek, St. Paul, Minn.; handfuls of grandchildren and the real reason for living, great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her parents – Jack and Mildred Ellis; in-laws – Sam and Esther Ruegger; sisters – Jane, Helen and Dorothy; brothers – Harold, Bill, Richard and John; and several nieces; nephews; cousins and dear friends. Pat’s family would like to thank the team at BeeHive Homes, for their loving and devoted care of Pat for the last 16 months. There will be a celebration of life and ice cream social at Driftless Historium in Mount Horeb, from 1 to 4 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 4. Online condolences may be expressed at www.gundersonfh.com.