Ruth Chessey

Ruth Ann Chessey (nee McNamara; formerly Johnson) passed away on June 9, 2025. She was born in New Richmond, Wisconsin on January 3, 1929 to Rose and Tom McNamara, the sixth daughter of eight. Ruth Ann grew up on a dairy farm outside of New Richmond with no electricity and no indoor bathroom. “We didn’t know we were poor,” Ruth Ann used to say. What the family may have lacked in money, they made up for in love.

Ruth Ann loved telling stories about their life on the farm, whether it was making cucumber boats to float in the cow tank, collecting maple syrup from the trees on Uncle James’ farm, or playing with the two-story dollhouse built by Aunt Helen and Uncle Walter. She attended grade school in a one-room schoolhouse and did her homework to the light of a kerosene lamp. The farm was lost in 1942 and Ruth Ann and family moved into town. She attended New Richmond High School, working various jobs at Doughboy Mills where she packed K-rations for the troops and JC Penney where she worked as cashier, bookkeeper and clerk.

She later moved to St. Paul with her sister Maggie, sharing an apartment with five other girls. After taking a test at Northwest Airlines, she was hired at Holman Field as a clerk tasked with monitoring times on the engines and flaps. There, she met Richard “Dick” Johnson and fell in love. They were married on October 15, 1949 and eventually settled into a home in with their five children: Rick, Sue, Tom, Nancy and Barbie. Their marriage ended in 1970. (Dick passed away in 2012.)

To provide for the family, Ruth Ann got a job as a cashier at the Best Steakhouse in Roseville. She eventually worked for the State of Minnesota, moving up to the position of auditor of worker’s compensation claims in the Department of Labor and Industry.

Ruth Ann loved to travel and took multiple trips with her sisters to Mexico as well Ireland, the place of her Father’s ancestry and many trips to California to visit one of her daughters.

In 1995, she married Bill Chessey after meeting him walking around Lake Como. They bought a cabin in Webster, Wisconsin where she enjoyed spending weekends gardening and fishing. Bill passed away in 2005.

Her later years were spent in White Bear Lake where she enjoyed quilting and aerobics. She then moved to Waverly Gardens, spending multiple afternoons every week playing her favorite card game, 500. Many of her fellow players considered her a card shark.

She was extremely proud of her Grandchildren (Rebecca Kaup, Carrie Kaup, Mike Kaup, Eric Johnson (Sara), Austin Hogan and Sadie Hogan Vail (Isaiah)), as well as her Great Grandchildren (Katarinna Johnson and Prescott Kaup).

Ruth Ann had the gift of gab her whole life and could spend hours chatting with her many nieces, nephews and friends. She was looking forward to the next McNamara reunion in July, but God had other plans. Instead, she will be celebrating in heaven with her sisters (Irene, Mary Jo, Maggie, Kathleen, Angela, Rachel and Rita), affectionately called “The Straight Eight.”

Children (Rick Johnson (Chris) of Cross Lake; Sue Kaup (Denny) of Bella Vista, AR; Tom Johnson of St. Paul, Nancy McNamara Schnebly (Lindsay) of Los Angeles; Barbie Hogan Hess (Pat) of White Bear Lake) are grateful for the loving care Ruth Ann received in her final days from the extraordinary nurses at Lakeview Hospital.

Her children considered Ruth Ann the center, heart and soul of the family. They are heartbroken over her loss, but are comforted at knowing that she’s in heaven, probably winning at cards and talking someone’s ear off.

Chessey/Johnson,

Ruth Ann

(nee McNamara)

Age 96 of White Bear Lake

Passed away on June 9, 2025. Preceded in death by husband Bill Chessey; seven sisters and former husband Richard Johnson. Survived by children Rick Johnson (Chris), Sue Kaup (Denny), Tom Johnson, Nancy Schnebly (Lindsay) and Barbie Hess (Pat); six grandchildren; two great grandchildren; nieces; nephews and friends. Mass of Christian Burial Monday, June 16, 2025 at 11:00 am at ST. MARY OF THE LAKE CATHOLIC CHURCH, 4741 Bald Eagle Avenue, White Bear Lake. Private interment at Fort Snelling National Cemetery. Visitation Sunday, June 15, 2025 from 2:00- 5:00 pm at MUELLER MEMORIAL, 4738 Bald Eagle Avenue, White Bear Lake and one hour before Mass at church.