Minden Courier; Minden NE; 2001-6-27

     Ruth H Lake Atchison, 85, of Holdrege, died Monday, June 18, 2001 at
Phelps Memorial Health Center in Holdrege.
     Ruth was born Jan. 28, 1916, in Minden, one of five children born to
Homer and Mary (Johnson) Fankell.
     She grew up in rural Heartwell and Minden areas.  At age 12 she was
baptized in the Baptist Church.
      She graduated from Minden High School in 1933 and went on to secure a
teaching degree from Kearney State College of Kearney.
     On May 25, 1939, she married Carl Lake in Smith Center, Kan.  to this
union were born two children.  James Albert and Julia Alynn.  They lived
many years in Axtell before moving to Ogallala and Alliance and then to
Colorado.
    After Carl's death, she married Mark Atchison in Kearny in 1983.  They
moved to Texas, returning  to Kearney shortly before Mark's death.  She
continued to reside in Kearney until poor health necessitated to move to
Holdrege Memorial Home formerly Methodist Memorial Home of Holdrege.
    She had a great love for her family and friends.  She taught both in
Nebraska and Colorado.  Many of her leisure hours were spent playing cards
with friends and family or reading books of all genre.
     Survivors include her son, James and his wife, Laura and their
children, Caroline and Jeremy all of Los Angeles, Calif.; step sons, mark
Atchison and his wife, Colleen of Waynesboro, Va.; Dan Atchison and his wife
Lisa, of Holdrege; stepdaughters, Ellen DiSalvo of Lincoln, Mary (Nan) May
and her husband, Dan of Kearney and Kate Nutter and her husband Steve of
Abilene, Texas; brothers Herb Fankell and his wife, Evelyn of Kearney;
Alfred (Ted) Fankell and his wife, Phyllis of Lakewood, Colo.; sister Ester
Pemberton and her husband, Virgil of Kearney; 14 step grandchildren; three
step great grandchildren, many nieces, nephews and other relatives and
friends.
      She is preceded in death by husbands, Carl Lake in 1980 and Mark
Atchison in 1996; daughter, Julia in infancy; brother Roy Fankell; and
nephew, Michael Fankell.
     Mass of Christian Burial was June 22 at the All Saints Catholic Church
in Holdrege with the Rev Steve Cooney officiating.
    Burial was June 23 in the Kearney Cemetery.
    Memorials are suggested to Holdrege Memorial Home or the First United
Methodist Church of Kearney