Ruth L. Edward

Ruth Loraine Edward, 88, passed away peacefully in Bellingham, Wash. on Oct. 22, 2013 from complications of a hip fracture.

She was born in Stella, Mo. on July 26, 1925 to Charlie and Lona Cox. She was preceded in death by her parents and her brother Bill. She leaves behind her brothers Howard Cox, of Rocky Comfort, Mo.; Bob (Geraldine) Cox, of Pineville, Mo.; Cecil (Shirley) Cox, of Joplin, Mo.; her baby sister, Shirley Ann (Duane) Kerr, of Rocky Comfort, Mo. and Bill’s widow, Rubena Cox, of Granby, Mo.

She also leaves behind numerous nieces, nephews and other relatives that she loved dearly. She was extremely close to all of her family. When she was younger, she would go home to Missouri every few years, so they could all sit around the kitchen table, eat and talk. We are all so happy that she was able to go back and see them one last time in September 2012. She came back talking about how the neighbor gave them a bunch of tomatoes, so she was able to have her favorite breakfast every day of tomatoes, bacon,eggs and toast, as she was still a farm girl at heart. Ruth adored her brothers, her sister, her brother-in-law, her sisters-in-law and all of the other relatives she has left behind in Missouri, and they felt the same way about her. If there was one wish she could have in this world, it would have been a magic wand so that she could live in Oak Harbor but they could all just live a mile or two down the road from her.

Ruth was raised on a farm and was a hard worker, but was determined to do something different in her life. After graduating from high school in 1947, she moved to Corpus Christi, Texas and found a job as a waitress. Shortly after that, she met a handsome sailor, Bob Hughes, and they were married six months later. It wasn’t until they were filling out their marriage certificate that she told him her real name was Ruth and that she was calling herself Penny because she liked the sound of it better. He married her anyway, and after tours in Millington, Tenn. and Norfolk, Va. they moved to Oak Harbor in 1955 with their three children.

They were married up until 1975, when they got divorced. At that time, Ruth went to work at the Navy Exchange and ended up in the jewelry department, which she loved. According to her, you can never have too many rings on your fingers, in fact you can fit two on some fingers and the gaudier the better.

She also loved clothes and shoes and every closet in her house was crammed full of them, some with the tags still on. She is remembered as always being dressed fancy, with full makeup and elaborate hairstyles, even to run to the grocery store. She made many good friends while working at the Exchange and they still remain friends to this very day. A few years later, after some pretty disastrous dates, she went to the VFW where a good looking man named Tom Edward asked her to dance to the song “Silver Wings” and after that night they were both goners. They married and were together for 30 years and were truly the love of each others lives. She went from wanting to leave the farm life, to moving out to Silver Lake Road where she could have a garden, chickens, a pony and numerous cats and dogs over the years.

Ruth loved to cook and Tom loved to eat, so they made a fine match. After many years of happiness Tom passed away in December of 2008, which broke Ruth’s heart but she was determined to continue living at the home they had made together.

At the age of 83 she was still out stacking wood for the wood stove, but she finally agreed to use the baseboard heater instead, just so her kids would stop nagging her. Those heating bills were pretty hefty because Ruth loved a hot house, not just in the winter but in the middle of summer. If it was 80 degrees outside, it was 85 degrees inside. You never had to wear a jacket in that house.

After living alone out there for three years, Ruth very reluctantly agreed to move into an assisted living place in town, much to the relief of her children. They expected it would be a slow adjustment period, however (as usual) she surprised them. Within two hours she told her daughter that she thought she was going to like it there, as the people were so nice. She also discovered that it was much easier for her friends to come visit her now that she lived in town, so she had a very busy social calendar between lunches with friends, senior trips and visits from her kids, grandkids and great-grandkids. She happily lived there from January 2012 until January 2013, when she fell and broke her hip. That injury led to a series of nursing homes and hospital stays and she eventually ended up in Bellingham, close to her oldest daughter. There she lived in an assisted living place, where her kids, grandkids and great-grandkids would come to visit her. She particularly loved visits by her great-grandkids as she enjoyed their energy and loved to stick her false teeth out at them, something she has been doing to small children for many years.

Ruth tried valiantly to recover from her hip surgery, but eventually it wore her down and it was time for her to leave this Earth,which she did quietly and peacefully with family by her side.

Ruth was known as sis, sister, mom, mother, grandma, Grandma Coco, Grandma GiGi, Ruth, Ruthie and friend. Going to the grocery store with her would turn into a three-hour social event as she would compliment every baby she saw, and ask every person, stranger or friend, how they were doing, and stand there waiting for an answer. It was her outgoing nature, along with her kindness and sense of humor that resulted in her having an enormous amount of friends from all different areas of her life. Her grandsons thought she was funny, but her granddaughters thought she was hilarious as she reserved some of her many jokes for women. When asked by doctors how she was doing she would usually reply “fine as a frog hair split in the middle” much to their confusion and/or amusement. This past year during her many different stays at nursing homes, assisted living places and visits to the ER, every person who came in contact with her commented on how sweet she was and how she was one of their favorites. She was easy to love as she cared about other people even in the midst of her own problems.

She leaves behind her son Larry (Karen) Hughes of Irmo, S.C.; her daughter Penny Johnson, of Bellingham, Wash.; her daughter Connie (Russ) Ray, of Lakewood, Wash.; and her seven grandkids Heather (Todd) Copeland, Kriss Hughes, McLean (Lara) Johnson, Jessie (Stephen) Burton-Johnson, Lonny (Courtney) Johnson, Heidi (Josh) Welborn and Chelsea (Ty) Ericson. She also leaves behind 10 great-grandkids: Haley and Owen Copeland, Phoenix and Caius Johnson, Camren Burton, Abby Johnson, Maddie, Zoe and Jack Welborn, and the newest little one, Asher Ericson.

Her family grieves her passing but takes solace in knowing that they all got to visit with her in her last year. We also believe that she knew how deeply she was loved by both her family and her many friends both near and far.

Ruth will be laid to rest at Maple Leaf Cemetery next to her beloved Tom, in a private ceremony. An engraved marker will also be placed at the cemetery in Missouri where her parents and her brother are laid to rest.

Next summer, her family will gather together to eat good food, and tell long stories into the night about mom, grandma, and great-grandma; how much we enjoyed her and how much we still miss her.

We hope that her many friends will know how much she cherished them, and will remember all of the good times they had together. Please join us in rejoicing that she is no longer in pain and is at peace. She was a lucky woman, married to the man she adored, surrounded by old friends who loved her and a family who will never forget her. Next time you go to Applebees, order a shrimp and spinach salad (after first looking at everything else on the menu even though you are going to always end up ordering the shrimp and spinach salad) hold up a Dr. Pepper and think of our mom. If you wish to make a donation in her name, she loved animals and babies so take your pick of the many charities available.