Ruth M. Meese

Ruth Elizabeth McKie Meese was born on July 6, 1954, which made her birthday very easy to remember. On Monday, January 14, 2019, she lost her short battle to cancer which ended the beautiful life that she had led.

Born in Beloit, WI, with her family growing up, she spent her summers in AuTrain, MI. When in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, she always considered herself a Yooper as both her parents grew up in Marquette, showing her the history of the area and teaching Ruth the love you can have for the beauty in nature around us, spending time on Lake Superior as well as AuTrain Lake. She loved nothing more than to have a pasty lunch on Presque Isle or to hike Sugarloaf Mountain or just hang out on Blackrocks. Her favorite event was always watching the sunset on Lake Superior which she always shared with friends who visited. Of course the trip was not complete without a Mackinac Island Fudge ice cream cone.

She shared these experiences every summer, not just growing up, but throughout her life with the love of her life Paul. They met early in life as Paul’s parents had the house right next door to Ruth’s parents. So Paul spent 30 years married to the girl next door, but only in the summer time. It’s not often you get to share your love of an area with the love of your life for your entire life.

Ruth is not only survived by Paul, but also by her two loving children Keelin (Alex) Petrouske and Ryne (Kathryn) Meese. Additionally her love of AuTrain was shared by her two brothers Rick (Janice) McKie and Skip (Kathy) McKie, her two brothers in law Dale (Vickie) Meese and Ric Meese, her niece Anna (Matt) Jones, and her nephews Alex (Andrea) McKie, Trevor (Angie) McKie, Tom (Brooke) McKie and Joe (Shannon) McKie as well as numerous great nieces and nephews. Her only regret in life is that she had such a limited time with her special granddaughter Ashildr, who she treasured almost more than her own children. Their time together was way too short as she had so many plans on spoiling her rotten and was so excited to work on her next career, trying to be the perfect grandmother. She succeeded at that in so many outstanding ways, even if only for the short year that they had together.

Ruth enjoyed her job at Front Range Community College and cherished the friends there as much as she cherished all her friends she had made living all over the country with her family, from Boston to Chicago, to California to Wisconsin again and eventually settling in Longmont, CO. She cherished the time with her sisters in game club through to each moment when she made a connection and love, learning her new friend’s background and values as well as their perspective on the world. She and Paul went to South Africa in 2015 and it was truly the trip of a lifetime, being just feet away from an elephant, when a giraffe stuck his head inside their truck. She loved learning about the nature and nuances of how the land supports the animals, and vice versa as well as how trees can talk to each other.

She was an accomplished seamstress, after graduating from UW- Eau Claire, opening her own business “Le Chic” making and selling clothes and artwork. She was a master on her loom as well as being able to sew, knit and crotchet all kinds of pieces which she readily shared with friends and family as gifts. She also loved being a puppy raiser for three different agencies, having 17 dogs through the house over a 15 year span. It was the one opportunity she had to give someone else the gift of freedom. Jobs to her were more than a paycheck, they were an opportunity to make another friend and learn from that person and the background they possessed.

Her time in this world will be remembered by many special friends from across the country as time well spent enjoying a dinner together, a laugh over a project, time spent exploring a new place, or just sharing a story about experiences she had been through. She truly embraced a chance to experience something new and was always open minded about the next adventure in her life, and her life was an adventure.

Ruth will be remembered as a loving mother and grandmother, a special aunt, a treasured friend and a soulmate that only comes along once in a lifetime. She will be remembered for her love of entertaining, her awesome ability in the kitchen as well as in the world of arts and crafts. She was a rock for so many, as she always took the time to listen and had a perspective on life that touched many knowing that they had someone in their corner who gave great advice and treated them as an individual, listening and loving them for who they were as a person. Ruth was a rare person in your life that doesn’t come along very often. We will all miss her, but she will never be forgotten. See you soon my friend. You will always be in our hearts and minds. We all loved you as you loved us.

Services will be at the Front Range Community College Community Room, 2121 Miller Drive on Saturday January 19, 2019. Visitation will be from 1:00-2:30 and a memorial service will follow at 2:30. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Alzheimer’s Association or the Longmont Humane Society in Ruth’s memory.

PLEASE WEAR COLOR FOR THE CEREMONY! Ruth loved the colors of life. Please help us enjoy the celebration!