Ruth Esther Kako

Ruth Esther (Kuoppala) Kako, 83, passed away, surrounded by family, on Sunday, May 15, 2016 at Park View Care Center in Buffalo, MN ending her fight with Alzheimer’s. She was born on March 18, 1933 in Clinton Township, Minnesota. She was the oldest of four children born to Alex and Lydia (Haapaniemi) Kuoppala. She began her life with a fight when as a baby she weighed less than two pounds when wrapped in her blanket. Her incubator at that time was in a shoebox placed behind the kitchen wood stove. Ruth graduated from Cherry High School in 1951 and continued on to graduate from Duluth Business University in 1952. On May 21, 1960, she married Waino Kako and together they lived in the Minneapolis area, Wolf Lake, and Brainerd. They were blessed with eleven children. Ruth enjoyed visiting with everyone; her door was always open with the coffee pot on. She loved spending time with her children and their families. She spent a lot of time working with her hands doing gardening, baking (her bread and caramel rolls were a favorite to many), knitting, tatting, and embroidering. While living in Hamel, she enjoyed her little "farm" raising chickens, ducks, pigs and milking a couple of cows. Life for Ruth could be summed up as “hunky-dory fine” She was a member of the Laestadian Lutheran Church. Ruth is survived by: James (Laila), Lohja, Finland; Karen, Plymouth, MN; Eugene (Gail), Greenfield, MN; Sharon (Dean) Kallinen, Big Lake, MN; Joyce (Brian) Kallinen, Big Lake, MN; Peter, Menahga, MN; Fred, Otsego, MN; Sandra, Wayzata, MN; Kenneth (Kari), Big Lake, MN; Thomas (Stephanie), Otsego, MN; Jeffrey (Ramona), Phoenix, AZ; 24 grand-children; sister Sylvia Kaurala; brother Reino (Diane) Kuoppala; and sister-in-law Elsie Kuoppala. Ruth was preceded in death by her husband of 42 years, brother Lauri Kuoppala, and grand-daughter Emily Kako. Reviewal will be from 5:00-8:00pm on Friday, May 20 with a memorial service 7:00 pm. Funeral services will be on Saturday, May 21 at 11:00am. Both services will be held at the Laestadian Lutheran Church of Menahga.