Obituary of Mary Ruth Pardue

June 21, 1919 - July 1, 2019 Decorated World War II Army Combat Nurse and Duluth resident Mary Ruth Pardue passed away peacefully at Bayshore Residence Memory Care unit July 1, 2019.  She had recently celebrated her 100th birthday. She was born on June 21, 1919 in Coburn, Virginia, the oldest of eventually six siblings.  She grew up in the coal mining region, where her father, William Pardue, worked as a mine engineer.  After graduation from high school at age 16, she matriculated at the University off Virginia Nursing College, Charlottesville, VA in 1936.  She achieved her first Bachelor’s Degree, in Nursing, and her designation as a Registered Nurse at age 20, in 1940. After the United States entered World War II, she entered the US Army Nurse Corps and was commissioned a Second Lieutenant, Army Nurse Corps.  She subsequently served overseas in the North African and Italian campaigns as a trauma and surgical nurse, specializing in traumatic head wounds.  She was awarded the Bronze Star for her actions in protecting her patients while under fire from hostile forces in northern Italy late in 1944.  It took many years for her to come to terms with her gruesome experience with the wounded, maimed and terminally injured soldiers who constantly passed through her caring hands.  In the last 20 years or so, she finally opened up about her experiences and left both a videotaped interview with Century High School in Bismarck, ND and an oral interview with the St. Louis County Veterans Hall oral history project. At the end of World War II in Europe she was assigned to the US Army medical facility in Florence, Italy and took advantage of the location to study at the University of Florence.  After demobilization at the end of the war, she moved to Washington, DC and while working at St. Elizabeth’s Hospital, earned her second degree, a Bachelor’s of Science degree, from the American University of Washington, DC.   She remained in the Washington, DC area until the late 1960’s, when her family moved to southern California.  While there she ran a successful art and book store in La Jolla, CA.  She returned to the Washington, DC area in the mid-1970’s and returned to the practice of nursing, only retiring in the late 1980’s after recovering from an auto accident.  While there, she earned a Masters of Science degree in Gerontology, one of the first RN’s to specialize in care for the aged.  She moved to Bismarck, ND in 1990 in order to be close to her extended family.  She moved to Duluth in 2002 when they did, and lived in a number of locations in Duluth.  Declining health issues led to her becoming a resident of the Morning Light Memory Care Unit at Bayshore Residence and Rehabilitation Center on Park Point.  She enjoyed the bay view and wildlife that abound on the grounds. She is survived by her daughter, Lisa Abrahams, MD (Andrew Niemyer) herself a US Army veteran her two grandsons, Robert Niemyer (Katy Sedia) of Richmond, VA and Eric Niemyer (Lainie Niemyer) of Minneapolis, MN and numerous nieces, nephews and grand nieces and nephews.  The family would like to express their gratitude and thanks to all the Bayshore Residence staff and the memory care unit especially who’s loving care and support for Mary as she battled the toll of time on her.  Her long-time friend, Maggie Yankowiak remained a constant visitor and friend to her over many years and many outings with Mary and was supportive to her throughout her final years.   Services will held at a future date at the Seven Pines National Cemetery at Sandstone, VA, where her military veteran father and brother are also interred.