September 24, 1936 - October 6, 2026
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A graveside service will be held Saturday, October 10, 2026 at 2:00 p.m. at the Willamina Cemetery. Then following the graveside service, a Memorial Service will be held at the Sheridan Baptist Church located at 632 E. Main Street, Sheridan, OR at 3:00 p.m.
Ruth was born in Clinton, Oklahoma and died in Sheridan, Oregon. Ruth was named after her 2 midwives that brought her into this world.
She was the middle child of 3 sisters. Betty was older and Mary was younger. Betty and Ruth were two peas in a pod. Through Betty’s spunky and tenacious ways, she would push Ruth to stay out of her comfort zone. For example, Betty had the idea to pierce Ruth’s ears with an ice cube, needle, and potato. Betty would be a constant in her life.
When she was 16 and a half, she was invited to be a witness for her friend who was going to drive to Tijuana Mexico to get married. The groom-to-be also invited his witness, Vernon. On the car ride down, after just 12 hours of knowing each other, Ruth and Vern decided to make it a double wedding. They would be married for 65 amazing years. Ruth remembered how funny it was to have her husband sign her report card.
Soon after marriage, they had their first son, Tommy Joe in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Then came Dorothy Nadine who was born in Minneapolis Minnesota, Diane Elaine, and Robert Ray in Chino, California. The children were born in roughly two-year intervals.
By the last child, in 1960, Ruth and Vern decided to settle on acreage outside of Scappoose, Oregon. Years of hard work made a 2-room shack turn into a 3 story home full of love and family. Ruth was kept busy with her children while tending to the chickens, goats, pigs, and cows. She was well known by neighbors and always ready to say hi or give a helping hand.
Throughout her life, she worked as a waitress and at Techtronix where she would later retire from.
When Vern retired from Greyhound Bus, they decided to visit all 50 states, visiting family, seeing the country, and best of all, enjoying each other. They loved bringing their grandkids along to the more local outings during the summer. Ruth and Vern would take care of her mother in Fontana, California often as well. They were on the road for 10 + years being snowbirds. When they felt like settling down after all those years of travel, they bought a place in Golden Valley Arizona. Once settled, they would still enjoy adventuring together, often with her older sister Betty, by going on trips and cruises to see more of the world.
After some time, Ruth was missing being close to family so she and Vern moved to Sheridan in 2010. Having them there also brought her daughter, Dorothy, and her sister, Betty to be just blocks away.
Ruth’s faithfulness to the Lord was truly shown through her life but she really had to lean on Him when she lost her son, Tommy, in 2015, her daughter, Diane, in 2018, her husband, Vern in 2018, and her sister, Betty, in 2021. As soon as she said goodbye to her sister, she found a lump - breast cancer. She would tell us that the Lord said she had to fight the cancer and stay for her family and that it wasn’t time for her to go home yet. She listened and did go through the battle but ultimately it returned March of this year. This time she heard the Lord tell her that it’s ok to leave this Earth.
She is survived by her sister Mary, children Dorothy and Robert, and her many grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and great-great-grandchildren.
