Ruth Ellen (Ruthie) was born in Boulder, Colorado on May 27, 1929, to Fred and Neva (Kirkpatrick) Craig. She was raised in Golden, Colorado. She attended Golden Central Grade Schools and Golden High School, Southwestern College in Kansas 1947-1948 and graduated from University of Denver in 1951 with a degree in Business Administration.
Ruthie married Harold Holliway on August 13, 1951, in Denver. Ruthie worked in energy (Colorado Central Power), oil and gas, and in 1963, Harold and Ruthie formed Holliway Insurance Agency. Together they built and sustained Holliway Insurance through many changes in the community and she served as vice president-treasurer-secretary until five years ago.
Ruthie loved to travel. She visited 48 US States and five continents (only missing Africa and Antarctica); with numerous trips to Europe with friends and family. Through her travels, she built great relationships with folks in other countries and strengthened friendships and bonds with family. She had a love of music and theatre starting in childhood, played piano, and sang in chorales and a cappella. She always loved to entertain friends and family, planning the best parties and tailgates.
Ruthie was a sports enthusiast; you name it she seemed to partake. She loved to follow DU hockey, CU Buffs football and basketball, Denver Nuggets, Denver Broncos, and Colorado Rockies. She made it to as many games as she could, and for the ones she couldn’t make she was often cheering her teams on from home. Ruthie also played golf, bridge, card games and liked puzzles.
Being involved in the community was important to Ruthie. She was a Boy Scout den mother, helped with 4H programs, school functions, sports, elections, and other activities. She was also a Corporal in the Civil Air Patrol during WWII and shared historical information on Arvada and Golden areas. Ruthie was a good storyteller with a great memory even to the last couple of days.
She is survived by son Kent, daughter Karen, granddaughters Lisa (Justin) Paauw and Kara, and her great grandchildren – Jessa, Landon, McKinley, and Hallie Paauw. There is a sign at the house ‘Better to wear out than rust out’ Kent added “we wore out the rust.”
The family requests that donations be made to the Arvada Historical Society or Foothills Animal Shelter.
