Ruth died at age 44 of a brain tumor at her home in Pacheco, CA. She attended West Penn School of Nursing with Charlene Walton. She attended Chapman College & received a bachelor's degree in nursing. She worked at John Muir Memorial Hospital in Walnut Creek, CA as Director of nursing, rehabilitation. In July 2011, Sue Strothman Johnson called Ruth's mother who lives in Pittsburgh. Rose was glad to talk about Ruth. Ruth had met a wonderful man who she spent several years with. A few weeks before her marriage to Philip "Scout" Bartlett, she received the grim prognosis. She died five months after their wedding. Rose told me all of her hospice and healthcare providers loved Ruth. Ruth didn’t want to be remembered with tears and sorrow. The woman who dedicated her life to healing the bodies and soothing the souls of others, wanted those who knew her to honor her life with simple, random acts of kindness and gentleness. With a wisdom that defied her age, Ruth decided to be a nurse when she was 5 years old. She had received a Nancy Nurse kit and very quickly got about healing her dolls and stuffed animals. She was so happy the day she graduated from nursing school and went through the capping ceremony. Although few nurses wore the crisp, white nurse’s cap at that time, Ruth made a point of proudly pinning hers in place and wearing it every day. While working with the elderly, Ruth led a crusade to limit the use of restraints. She also convinced officials to use contrasting colors on hand rails and ramps so senior could more easily see them. She eventually became one of the youngest nursing directors. One of Ruth’s favorite expressions was to “fluff it up” when you were down. Ruth would say “in this lifetime you live and you die and what you do in between is up to you. So you may as well make it as nice as you can.”
Gary Machiko wrote: There could be no one better to have as a cousin, (only 11 days younger than me), to share all those moments of growing up from 1st grade to high school graduation and beyond. Ruth was a girl that heard her calling early on in life to be involved in nursing. She loved being a nurse every day from 9th grade & her first days as a nurse’s aide at Regency Hall Nursing Home to her final position as an administrator with John Muir Hospital in Walnut Creek, CA. The compassion in her heart for the sick and dying was too great to measure. She was absolutely in the right place in life. It is often said, “what you are is what God gave you, what you become is what you give back to God”. Certainly God must have had an overflowing cup up there with Ruth’s name on it. Indeed Ruth’s life was truly a journey and not a destination constantly just out of reach. She climbed more mountains, crossed more rivers, ate more ice cream, and laughed more in her short life than many will in their entire life.
Karen Cole Eglinton wrote: I remember Ruth fondly. We lived about a mile from each other off Ingomar Rd. near the entrance to North Park and we rode the bus together. We did things together in junior High but we didn’t keep in touch after graduation. The Stumps were a very close family.