Ruth Osborn

Like the Bible she kept on her kitchen table, Ruth Osborn’s life was a beloved, open book. She was an outgoing and outspoken woman, so independent yet compassionate, who shared her love of life with everyone around her. Ruth was a loving wife, mother, aunt and friend, and truly a blessing to all who knew her.

Ruth’s story began on a cool spring day in 1910, in the bustling city of Grand Rapids, Michigan. Those were such exciting times in our nation’s history, which saw the new inventions of the airplane and the automobile begin to transform our society. On April 14, 1910, just days before Halley’s Comet streaked across the night sky, Anthony and Gertrude (Holtrop) Beurkens celebrated the birth of a baby girl named Ruth.

Ruth was the third of 11 children in the large family’s home on Tamarack, and her parents ran an understandably tight ship when she was growing up. Each of the kids had their share of chores to do, and the older siblings took care of the younger ones. As they grew, the children learned to take care of each other as well.

Ruth attended Widdicomb School, before heading off to Union High School. She loved school, and loved playing sports, as well. Ruth earned her varsity letter in basketball and volleyball, and was a sports enthusiast her entire life.

Being a young woman in those days, Ruth’s parents pressured her to drop out of high school and go to work fulltime, but her older brother stood up for her, and she proudly graduated in 1929. Diploma in hand, Ruth began working first at a local dime store, and then found various factory jobs, which she worked at most of her career.

By then the Great Depression descended on the nation, and like so many people, it had a profound impact on Ruth. She learned the value of a dollar, and learned to be very resourceful, thrifty, and independent, too.

She wouldn’t remain alone, however. One day after working at Knape & Vogt, Ruth needed a ride home. A handsome coworker named Robert Osborn offered, and a lifelong love was formed in that short ride home. They began dating, fell in love, and were soon married.

The happy couple soon became parents, as well, blessed with their only child, Carol Sue. Ruth was very, very close with her daughter, and the family did much together over the years. Ruth particularly loved the family picnics they often went on when Carol was young, piling in the car and driving around all day, stopping for a snack or for lunch along the way.

Ruth’s home was also a welcome haven for friends and family, from the wonderful treats she baked in her kitchen, to the fun frolicking found in her pool in the summertime. Ruth herself didn’t swim, but she loved to see people having fun at her home, and she would wade in the shallow end.

Ruth and Carol only became closer as they got older, and after Ruth’s beloved husband Bob died, the mother and daughter were inseparable. Many of Carol’s friends became good friends to Ruth, too. Sadly, Carol died at the age of 43, from an aneurysm.

Ruth was deeply saddened, but relied on her large family and deep faith to see her through. She was very close with her siblings, her nieces and nephews, too. She and her sister began traveling extensively, visiting Nova Scotia, Canada, California, and smaller “Mystery Tours” around the Midwest, too.

Ruth also had her church family at Mt. Olive Lutheran Church, where she was very active for many years. She was always willing to cook or bake something for her church, carefully typing up the recipes she used, because people always asked for them afterward!

Ruth was very open and outgoing about her faith, just as she was with everything in her life. It was common to find her Bible open on her kitchen table, with whatever passage she had been reading. She did her devotions daily, and wasn’t afraid to talk about her beliefs.

Ruth wasn’t afraid to talk about anything, really. She was very boisterous and outspoken, yet easygoing at the same time. She could be hard to read, and though she looked serious, she often was not, with a wry smile hiding just past her lips.

Ruth had many hobbies to keep her busy, especially her love for sports. She always loved baseball, and enjoyed watching games on TV as well as in person. She attended many West Michigan Whitecaps games over the years, even after Bob died. She also loved to watch Michigan football games on TV. She also loved to read and to work on word puzzles.

Ruth was also a very energetic woman, who never seemed to stop moving. She was very independent, and enjoyed doing things for herself. She did everything around the house, from shoveling the snow to mowing the lawn — well into her 80s! Eventually she relented, and began asking for help, though she didn’t like asking, but always found plenty of people willing to help her.

As the years progressed, Ruth’s health slowly declined, as age and arthritis took its toll. Being the strong, independent woman she was, she remained on her own, in her home, until the summer of 2007.

Ruth went to her heavenly home on December 6, 2007, at the age of 97.

Ruth was a wonderful woman, who lived a long and wonderful life, a life so full of family and faith. She was an outgoing, outspoken woman, open with her thoughts, her faith and her love. More than anything, Ruth was a beloved wife, mother, sister, aunt and friend, whose life lives on today in all who knew her. She will be greatly missed.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Robert; her daughter, Carol Sue Osborn; parents Anthony and Gertrude Beurkens; brothers Joe, Nick and Tony; sisters Ada, Gert and Sylvia. Ruth is survived by her sister, Marie Miller; sisters-in-law Marney, Fran and Sue; several nieces and nephews; special friends JoAnn Otten, Sue Guy, Arlene Oakes, Jeannie Hindenach, Carl and Chris Baker. The funeral service will be held on Monday, December 10 at 11 AM at Mt. Olive Lutheran Church. Relatives and friends are invited to visit with her family at Heritage Life Story Funeral Homes – Van’t Hof Chapel, 851 Leonard NW on Sunday from 2-4 and 7-9 PM. In lieu of flowers, please consider a memorial contribution to either Hospice of Michigan or Mt. Olive Lutheran Church. To share a memory of Ruth or to sign the online register, please visit www.lifestorynet.com