Patricia A. Makosky Ruble 1942-2021

Patti was born Nov. 3, 1942, in Cleveland, to Mary Vodhanel, and lived her childhood years in Campbell, with her mother’s family, where she attended St. John the Baptist Church and elementary school. In 1955, while living in Chicago with her mother and adoptive father, a month before entering high school, she was stricken with polio and left completely paralyzed. She survived after living in an iron lung for months and went to live at Warm Springs Polio Rehabilitation Center in Georgia, where she was provided the equipment and physical therapy that she would need to live her new life.

Upon leaving Warm Springs, Patti moved home to live with her family in Youngstown. Her independent spirit took her to Creative Living in Columbus, where she lived in her own apartment while attending Ohio State University and receiving a master’s degree in social work.

She worked with the Columbus Legal Aid Society for many years. Upon retirement, she continued doing community work, always assisting people who wanted to improve their lives through education, employment and better living conditions.

Patti was a kind and loving person with a heart of gold, who welcomed all who were graced to be in her presence. No one ever left a visit with Patti without a smile on their face and a spring in their step. Her positive attitude was deeply rooted in her faith and belief that God would always take care of her. Patti lived her faith, always looking at the world through the lens of love and kindness, always wanting to help when she saw a need.

She leaves four sisters, Veronica Foster in Upstate New York, Bernadette (Joe) Maluso in Fort Collins, Colo., Lisa Skorich in Santa Fe, Texas and Kathleen Pritchard in Peoria, Ariz. Her extended family and friends are too numerous to mention here. Her parents, Mary and William Makosky, are both deceased.

Patti will live on through special memories within the hearts of those who loved her.

Family and friends will gather at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 29, 2022, at St. Thomas More Newman Center, 64 W. Lane Ave., Columbus, OH 43201. A Mass of Christian Burial will follow at 11 a.m., with the Rev. Vincent McKiernan, celebrant.

The service will also be livestreamed on YouTube at Buckeye Catholic, for those unable to attend. A light meal at the Newman Center will follow Mass.

Interment will be Saturday, May 21, 2022, in St. John Cemetery in Lowellville, after a 10 a.m. Mass at Christ the Good Shepherd Church in Campbell, the same church Patti attended as a child.

Arrangements by O’Shaughnessy Co.

(special notice)