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Obituary for Ruth Lynne Guzman


Our beatutiful sister/mother/aunt/cousin, Ruth Lynne Guzman, lost her courageous battle with cancer on December 23, 2021. Ruth was born at her family home in La Crosse, WI on September 20, 1938, her first crib being a dresser drawer in her parent’s bedroom. Despite suffering from acute asthma, she was a cheerful, spirited child, a voracious reader who loved dramatic playacting. This loving home was shared with her parents Vernon and Elvina Swancutt, brother Brian, and sisters Karen and Susan. The family loved visiting their relatives on the farm in Ettrick, WI. During her high school years Ruth worked as a nurse’s aide at Grandview Hospital. Hence began her lifelong interest in medicine—an interest that developed further as she spent most of her working life in hospitals. Ruth graduated from Central High School in 1957 and began attending La Crosse State Teachers College, where she met her first husband Eduardo. He was a native of Colombia, South America, in the States to learn English. Their marriage produced three children: Elizabeth, and twins Anthony and Deborah. With the twins only 3 months old, Eduardo and Ruth relocated to Barranquilla, Colombia. This move was a true testament to her adventurous nature, to a foreign country where she did not know the language. Here Ruth worked as an English teacher at Colegio Parrish, and learned to speak Spanish fluently, developing an avid interest in foreign language. Ruth and Eduardo moved back to the United States in 1969 and raised their 3 children in La Crosse. Ruth earned a Bachelor of Art in French and Spanish, and a Bachelor of Science in Education, from the Unversity of Wisconsin La Crosse in 1971. She worked at UWL teaching French and Spanish and running the Foreign Language Lab in Main Hall. Ruth would proudly recount how, during a trip to study French in France, she danced on the tables at the Moulin-Rouge! In 1981, Ruth and Eduardo separated, and Ruth moved to Washington DC. There she worked in various positions at George Washingon University Hospital, then as Department Supervisor for the Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation unit at DC General Hospital. In DC, Ruth married Servilio Valdez. She and Servilio moved back to La Crosse in 2008. Here, Ruth began her career as a Spanish Medical Interpreter at Gundesen Lutheran Medical Center. Ruth excelled at and loved this work, it being a perfect combination of her love of language and her interest in medicine. In La Crosse, Ruth dedicated herself to her interpreting work and helping to care for her ailing father Vern and sister Karen. She also cared for her husband Servilio who developed a neurological disease to which he succumbed, after several years, in 2020. Soon after his passing, Ruth was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. During her illness, Ruth became a resident of Bethany St. Joseph Care Center in La Crosse. Here her spirit, sense of humor, camaraderie, and love of word games soon made her a most popular resident. She lost her battle just before her favorite holiday, Christmas. Ruth celebrated with her family the magic of this wonderful season as it was done during the Depression—the children would wake up to the wonder of a home transformed with glittering decorations and a beautiful Christmas tree with gifts all around. She also made birthdays magical fun. Ruth loved the movies, reading poetry and all kinds of literature, and was a wiz at crosswords and word games. She had a passion for the wonders of nature: flowers and gardening, a rainbow after summer rain, the stars in the sky, and especially “feeding the critters”. She enjoyed walking and bike rides and rollerblading well into her senior years. We send her off with her usual loving goodnight to us: “Que duermas con los ángeles”. (May you sleep with the angels”). Ruth is survived by her sister Susan Bea (widow of William) Schmidt; brother Brian Edwin (Kathy) Swancutt; children Elizabeth (Max Bigelow) Guzman, Anthony Blane Guzman, Deborah Wynne (widow of Mike) Guzman-Stoeffler; grandchildren Carlye Margaret (Tyler) Hart, Brandon Blane Guzman; nieces and nephews Derek Wayne (Kim) Kaio, Kam-lin (Dominic) Roswall, Dr. Mark Alan (Dr. Jessica Ricaldi) Swancutt, Dr. Diana Marie (Elaine Allen) Swancutt, Laura Lynn (Paul) Wetzel, and numerous cousins, grandnieces and grandnephews. The family would like to thank the staff of Gundersen Lutheran Medical Center, and Bethany St. Joseph Care Center, for the outstanding care of our beloved mother/sister/aunt/cousin. She truly enjoyed her months at Bethany, and we felt comforted that she was in your safe and loving hands. Funeral services will be held at 12 noon on Friday, January 7, 2022, at the Faith and Life Chapel of Riverside Transitional Care, 2575 7th St. South, La Crosse, followed by a time of lunch and fellowship. Entombment following lunch, in the mausoleum at Catholic Cemetery in La Crosse. There will be no visitation prior to the funeral service on Friday; however, friends and family are invited to a visitation from 4:00 p.m. until 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, January 6, 2022, at Jandt-Fredrickson Funeral Home, Woodruff Chapel, 4239 Mormon Coulee Rd., La Crosse. Online condolences may be offered at www.jandtfredrickson.com.