Ruth Thomas, 88

Ruth Thomas, 88, of Camp Tuffit, Lake Mary Ronan, passed away on Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2008, after a short illness.

She was born March 16, 1920, in Olden, Texas, to Ralph and Lela Sines. Her father was a roughneck and followed the drilling rigs from Texas to Oklahoma to Alberta to Montana, so Ruth got to see a lot of this country at a young age.

Ruth graduated from high school in Cut Bank, and shortly after met her husband, Jerome, while on a vacation at Camp Tuffit. They were married Sept. 3, 1937, and celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary a few months before Jerome's passing in December 2007.

She worked side by side with Jerome operating Camp Tuffit resort from the early '40s until they retired.

She loved birds, tending flowers and puttering in her yard. Ruth was a member of the Chief Cliff Homemakers Club and was instrumental in bringing to publication a history of the small communities nestled along the west shore of Flathead Lake titled, 'Chief Cliff Country.'

Ruth and Jerome enjoyed traveling and frequently would spend a winter month in Hawaii or Arizona.

Her greatest pleasure was spending time with her grandchildren. She was famous for remembering something cute a small child would say and then using it in conversation year after year.

Ruth was preceded in death by her husband, Jerome; her parents; and an older brother.

She is survived by sons, Gary and Carol, and Mark and Dianne, of Camp Tuffit; and daughter, Jeanne Maas, and Lynn, of Los Alamos, N.M. She is also survived by eight grandchildren, 15 great-grandchildren; and four great-great-grandchildren.

A funeral service will be held at 1 p.m. Monday, Oct. 6, at Grogan Funeral Home, with interment to follow at Lake View Cemetery. A reception will be afterward at St. Joseph Assisted Living, 11 17th Ave. E., in Polson.

The family suggests that any memorial gifts be given in Ruth's name to the Polson City Library.