Obituary of Mae Elizabeth Ruddy

11:00 a.m. Fri June 10 to service time Mae Elizabeth Ruddy was born to Fred and Hanna Rankin November 27, 1922 in Spokane, Washington, suffered a massive stroke while visiting relatives in Spokane, and died June 4, 2005 at Sacred Heart Medical Center. She had lived in Spokane for 40 years and in Tumwater for the past 42 years. She graduated from Lewis & Clark High School in 1940 and Spokane Junior College in 1942. She had worked at the Spokane Air Depot and McClintock and Trunkey, and was a loving homemaker and mom for most of her life. She married George E. Ruddy in 1949. He preceded her in death in 1990. She is survived by her son, Jim Ruddy of San Jose, California; her daughters, Deborah Wright (Daniel) and Judy Brown (Craig), both of Tumwater; her brother, Clifford Rankin of Spokane, her brother-in-law, Donald James of Spokane; and 6 grandchildren, Nathan, Morgan and Molly, all of Tumwater, Nelson of Seattle and Melissa and J.B., of Federal Way. Also, numerous nieces, nephews and cousins survive her. She was preceded in death by her parents, her sister, Jean and her brother, Foy. She had belonged to Job’s Daughters, Tzuma Social Club, Spokane Garden Club, was a Den Mother and a Girl Scout Leader. Mom was a wonderful seamstress for most of her life until Macular Degeneration affected her eyesight. She took up oil painting in the middle of her life, even though she didn’t think she could “draw a straight line with a ruler”. She loved working in her yard, especially making sure her rose garden was kept up and doing geranium “starts” every year. Her favorite pastime was meeting every day at Starbucks. She will be greatly missed by all who knew and loved her, including the “coffee ladies” at Starbucks! Funeral services will be held Friday, June 10 at 1:00 at Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd. Donations may be made to Macular Degeneration Research, INHS Foundation (MedStar – the angels who airlifted her to the hospital after her stroke), Sacred Heart Medical Center ICU (the angels who cared for her in the hospital), or your favorite charity. Macular Degeneration Research 22512 Gateway Center Drive Clarksburg, MD 20871 www.ahaf.org INHS Foundation Attn: Jason Miller 711 S. Cowley Spokane, WA 99202 http://www.inhs.org Sacred Heart Medical Center ICU 101 W. Eighth Avenue PO Box 2555 Spokane, WA 99220 www.shmc.org