Ruth Nolte, age 87, of Hammond died November 16, 2019 at her home of a possible heart attack. Ruth was born on June 24, 1932 in Rochester, Minnesota; the daughter of Lyal R. and Ruby (Hanson) Wells. She attended elementary school in Simpson, Minnesota before graduating from high school in Rochester. As a young lady, she would meet and marry Henry ‘Hank’ Nolte at the Methodist Church in Rochester. This union would be blessed with two children, Susan and Larry. Ruth was surrounded by family her entire life, starting with grandparents Ross and Grace Hanson who helped raise her. Ruth worked early in life for AMPI and Rochester Dairy. Following her marriage and moving to the Hammond area, she worked for St. Croix County Public Health as a clerk and later the First National Bank in Hammond. Ruth’s passion was the farm and tending to her animals. She loved morning visits with the calves and horses, and may have had a cat or two… She and Hank belonged to the Horse Saddle Club in Pleasant Grove and the Minnesota Mule and Donkey Association. Their greatest satisfaction came from harnessing up the mules with the grandchildren and traveling across greater Minnesota for the Camp Courage Wagon Train. Seeing a child with health problems beam up as they came down the road gave them the upmost reward! Ruth is survived by her daughter Susan Bale (Bob St. Germain) of Hammond; Larry (Jane) Nolte of Hammond; grandchildren Ross Nolte, Sara (Shawn) Enberg, Tristan (John) White, Kyle Bale; great grandchildren Miley, Shelby, Evelyn; half siblings Gene (Sandy) Sturgis of Wabasha, MN, Pam (Carl) Skime of Hayfield, MN, Barb (Steve) Clark of Stewartville, MN; half brothers/sisters-in-law Neil Haverly of Chatfield, MN, Lynn Sturgis of Kasson, MN, as well as a host of other relatives and friends. She joins her husband Hank, parents, Lyal R. Wells and Ruby A. Sturgis, grandparents, Ross and Grace Hanson, half siblings Marge, Robert, and Richard in death. A Celebration of Life for Ruth will be on Friday, November 22nd from 4pm to 7pm at the O’Connell Family Funeral Home of Baldwin. Interment will be in the family cemetery in Pleasant Grove, Minnesota. Memorials are preferred to the discretion of the family. Funeral services entrusted to the O’Connell Family Funeral Home of Baldwin.