Obituary of Ruth Joyce Banaszek

Ruth Joyce (King) Banaszek died on 1 November 2023, in Wilkes-Barre at the age of 92. She is preceded in death by her son Joseph Arthur in 2006. Born on 24 November 1930, in Wilmington, North Carolina to Henry Thomas King and Maggie L Ballard, Joyce (as she was always called) was the eldest in a family with four brothers; Jack Douglas, Freddie Thomas, Jimmie Roy and Roger Howard. She graduated New Hanover High School in the Class of 1949. Beside her picture in the yearbook is noted “Always smile and be gay, you’re sure to be happy every day.” Upon graduation she began working as a telephone operator in Wilmington. On 26 December 1951, she married Edward Banaszek at SS Peter and Paul church in Plains. Her life-long marriage to a career Marine allowed her to live and have children in Syracuse, NY, Rome, NY, Parris Island, SC, Camp Lejeune, NC and Quantico, VA, before moving to Bear Creek, Pennsylvania, in 1970, with her husband and children. She is survived by her husband of 72 years; four sons, Edward Jr of Houston, TX. Mark of Orlando, FL, Eric of Atlanta, GA and Alex of Bear Creek, PA; two daughters, Elizabeth of Tampa, FL and Maryjean of Wilkes-Barre, PA; 19 grandchildren and 22 great-grandchildren. Visitation will take place on Sunday, 5 November, at Yanaitis Funeral Home, 55 Stark Street, Plains, Pennsylvania, between the hours of 4 and 7 pm. A Funeral Mass will take place on Monday, 6 November, at SS Peter and Paul Catholic Church, 13 Hudson Road, Plains, Pennsylvania at 10 am. Lunch will be available for family and friends after the service. In lieu of flowers, at the request of the family, memorial donations in Joyce’s memory could be made to the Ronald McDonald House,24 Trembulake Way, Danville, PA, 17821.