A Galesburg woman known for her passion for baseball and tireless community service has died.
Ruth Pecsi died Monday, July 28, 2025, surrounded by family at her home. She was 95.
Born May 5, 1930, in Galesburg, Ruth Pecsi devoted her life to shaping her hometown through decades of community initiatives.
Pecsi’s love for baseball began as a teenage catcher for the Bill Scrapper’s Young Woman’s Baseball Team. She served as secretary for the Central Illinois Collegiate Baseball League for 16 years and held roles as board member, secretary, promotional director, and president of the Galesburg Pioneers summer college baseball team.
She was a passionate fan of the Chicago Cubs.
In 1986, she chaired the sporting events committee for Galesburg’s Sesquicentennial celebration. With her husband, Frank, who died Oct. 11, 1997, she co-founded the city’s annual Youth Fishing Derby, leading it for more than 20 years.
Her civic contributions extended beyond sports. Pecsi served on the All-America City committee in 1993, the board of Leadership Greater Galesburg, and as secretary for Local 1173 AFSCME. She was technical director for the 1994 Lincoln-Douglas re-enactment and received the 2004 Thomas B. Herring Award for Community Service.
Obituary: Ruth L. Pecsi ~ May 5, 1930 – July 28, 2025
At Trinity Lutheran Church, she held leadership roles, including president of WELCA, Social Service committee chair, and coordinator of a reading program at Steele School.
As a Galesburg Noon Rotary member, she earned the Community Service Leader Award and the Verne W. Dower Rotary Exemplary Service Award.
Pecsi spent 32 years in the City of Galesburg’s water billing department and five years teaching map-reading and leading tours at Carl Sandburg College’s “College for Seniors” program.
She is survived by her children, Patricia Anne Hanner of Normal, John D. Pecsi of Keithsburg, and Jane Elizabeth Cox of Galesburg; seven grandchildren; 10 great-grandchildren; and a sister-in-law.
Visitation is 10 a.m. to noon, Friday, Aug. 1 at Hinchliff-Pearson-West Funeral Directors, followed by a noon funeral, with burial in Memorial Park Cemetery.
The family requests attendees wear Chicago Cubs or sports attire to honor Pecsi’s love of athletics.
