Ruth’s travels took her all over the world and she took pictures on every trip. She especially loved cruises. She cruised to Alaska and through the Caribbean. One of her favorite cruises was a Windjammer Cruise through the islands. Her trips included one to China with a group sponsored by the radio station WOR. She toured Australia, Germany, including a trip to Oberammergau for the famous Passion Play, and Spain. She tried to visit her grandchildren wherever they were. There is a famous family story about her trip to visit Elizabeth in France that includes her taking a train on her own instead of waiting for Elizabeth to meet her as they had planned and Elizabeth getting the police to find and hold her! She flew and drove to Texas to visit Matt when he was down there.
One winter Ruth and her friend Wes rented a condo in Arizona and spent the season in warmth. They had a great time, sang in the local choir and visited the sights. She also spent some time one fall driving through the west in a camper with one of her old college friends after connecting with him at a reunion.
Of course, she spent lots of time visiting family in Florida and California. She knew all of her nieces and nephews! She was home for every Christmas and Janice and Byron and his family, as well as Barbara Wheeler and anyone else who was around, came to Oakland for a big celebration.
When she was home she was active in Ponds Reformed Church, went to lunch with the retired Oakland teachers, volunteered at Valley Hospital and enjoyed Parents Without Partners. She went to every PWP dance and, at one time or another, held every office!
In September 1996 she had her 80th birthday party at Christ Church, Pompton Lakes. Ruth invited 80 guests. There was a DJ and a catered buffet. In lieu of presents, donations were collected for the food pantry and for North Porch (care of mothers and new babies). Her brother, Al, came up from Florida and her nephew, David, came out from California to represent the California brothers, Howard and John.
After 80 she started slowing down, but she also complained that it was getting hard to find traveling companions because all of her friends were so old and slow. In April 2001 Ruth took a cruise through the Panama Canal. After that cruise, Ruth began to deteriorate rapidly. She forgot how to make coffee and sent thousands of dollars to lotteries. Her dentist called Janice and reported that she had been unable to drive herself to his office because she kept getting lost. This was the dentist she had been using for over 30 years. Her finances were a mess.
In July, 2001 she took her last cruise to Norway with Jule. When she returned, Janice took her for a Geriatric evaluation at St. Barnabas, which revealed dementia due to a series of small strokes – TIAs. They persuaded her to give up her car keys then and there. The recommendation was that she not continue to live alone and in February, 2002 Ruth moved to the Atrium in Allendale, an assisted care facility. She chose that one over all the others because it had a cocktail hour every evening with music and dancing and the program and décor was almost like a cruise ship. After Ruth moved out of her home on Seminole Avenue, Byron and Janice emptied it and arranged for its sale.
Ruth did not really adjust to being at the Atrium, but she started doing better. Janice and Elizabeth and Byron visited her regularly. She did enjoy the activities. The Bergen County Retired Educators caught up with her and arranged transportation so she could attend their events. Ponds Church tried to get her to church when they could. She had to have the late dinner seating because she talked so much that she couldn’t finish in time on the early seating. She was eating again, her medication was being given to her properly, she made new friends and the staff loved her. Her last activity was dancing at the cocktail hour and then going to rest for a bit before the late dinner seating. She must have gotten a better offer because she never woke up. She passed away on June 15, 2002.
