Ruth L. Mikkelson

Ruth L. Mikkelson, age 79, of Menomonie, WI, passed away October 14, 2026, at Mayo Clinic Health System in Eau Claire, WI.

Ruth was born December 15, 1946 in Duluth, MN to Harold Larson and Margaret (Chapman). She grew up in Hermantown MN and graduated from Hermantown High School and earned her B.A. in Mathematics and Chemistry from the University of Minnesota-Duluth. She earned her Master’s Degree and PhD in Mathematics from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

She married Dennis Mikkelson June 8, 1974 at Trinity Lutheran Church in Wausau WI and moved to Menomonie WI in 1980 to begin teaching at UW-Stout after graduate school. She loved teaching, spending time with her son and grandkids and growing things in her garden. She was an active member of Faith Lutheran Church in Menomonie.

She began programming scientific calculations using punched cards as an undergraduate research assistant at UMD and continued to develop software for her classes and research as a Professor of Mathematics at the UW-Stout for nearly 25 years. She taught students and developed software for neutron scattering data visualization and analysis via several National Science Foundation grants and multiple research projects with Argonne and Oak Ridge National Laboratories until she retired in 2013.

Ruth is survived by her husband Dennis of Menomonie, her son Christopher of St. Paul, MN, two grandchildren Glen and Arlo, one nephew and her sister Jeanette of Fenton, MI.

She was preceded in death by her parents Harold and Margaret and by her brother Stanley.

Funeral services will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Monday, October 19, 2026, at Faith Lutheran Church in Menomonie, WI, with Pastor Michael Penikis officiating. Visitation will be held one hour prior to the service.

Burial will take place at Pine Grove Cemetery in Wausau, WI, at 11:00 a.m. on Tuesday, October 20, 2026.

To share a memory, please visit obituaries at www.olsonfuneral.com