Ruth Maxine Thompson

Ruth Maxine Filer Thompson passed to her next challenge on Friday, January 22, 2021. Ruth will be profoundly missed by her loving family including daughters Cynthia Bremer (Karl), Charlotte Thompson (Nik Dunbar), Patricia Colson (Dean) as well as grandchildren Laurie Robison, Donald Robison (Shelby), Jennifer Carlson (Lars), Rebecca Jeffrey Padilla, Patrick Stern (Yuki), Sean Stern (Debbie), Michael Stern and Susanne Clark (Todd). Thirteen Great Grandchildren and two Great-Great Grandchildren are also part of her legacy.

Ruth lived a long productive life during which there were many roles, responsibilities and challenges. She was an only child raised by parents in a small upstate NY community. Her parents were the local postmaster and grocery store owner and his wife who taught all grades in a one room school in which Ruth started her education at age four. Ruth graduated from high school at age sixteen, after which she tried her talents as a fledgling artist studying at the Traphagen School of Art in New York City while also working on art projects for clients. This was followed by marriage at 21, thus becoming a military wife who would raise her children at posts around the world. Her first child was born as her husband was on his way to World War ll. During the war years, she helped her father in the store and Post Office. During those years and from then on, she became a breadwinner who earned income to supplement family finances and later to help her daughters finance college. Ruth continued both her education and career, starting first as a secretary- stenographer and moved through professional positions with the federal government and later as a college professor in Seattle, WA. Her final role in retirement was that of writer and published author.

After helping her daughters through college, Ruth earned degrees herself: BA (Whitworth), MA (UW) and PhD (UW). After retirement, Ruth dedicated herself to her writings which were prolific. The Margaret Deland biography was published in 2014. Ruth has unpublished writings of both prose and poetry.

Ruth’s daughters remember her doing things that were both hard and easy. She sat for days at the hospital intensive care bedside of a granddaughter trying to figure out how to communicate as she was emerging from a coma and unable to speak ---and she succeeded. She made campaign posters for one daughter running for student council office. She sewed dresses for special occasions when money was tight. She stood up to a teacher who bullied a quiet sensitive child. She faithfully attended concerts of a daughter and quietly kept tempo while seated in the audience. The daughters remember their mother as their faithful champion---a Mom who was bright, talented, scholarly, quiet, soft spoken, determined, a hard worker and proud of her daughters’ achievements. She had musical and artistic talents to share.

Ruth was predeceased by her parents Ernest and Ruby Filer of Brisben and Greene, NY, ex-husband Charles W Thompson of Tacoma, WA, aunt Ruth Davis of Utica, NY and uncle Robert Hughston of Brisben, NY.

A celebration of life will be held at a later date after COVID. Special thanks from the family are due to grandson Michael Stern, who was her comfort in her later years and at the end of her life as well as Hospice of Dayton and Sycamore Glen staff who provided comfort and caring.