Ruth Helen Decker

Ruth Helen (Orr) Decker, age 101, of Lakewood, New Jersey passed away suddenly at her home in Leisure Park on March 27, 2024. Born and raised in Jersey City, New Jersey, she lived in Rutherford, New Jersey for 56 years before moving to Lakewood in 2014.

Ruth was the oldest child and only daughter of Walter Orr and Nellie Decker. Sometime after graduating from Snyder High School in 1939, she met William Everett Decker, also from Jersey City, and they were married in 1945, soon after he returned from his military service in the Battle of the Bulge. They had five sons whom they raised together until their divorce in 1974.

Ruth was always very active, serving as a leader in the Girl Scouts when she was a teenager, serving as the president of the PTA when her children were in elementary school, working as a census taker for the 1960 census collection, becoming very active in the Rutherford Congregational Church for more than 50 years, working as the Executive Secretary of the Rutherford Chapter of the American Red Cross for 25 years, volunteering at the Rutherford Food Pantry for several decades, and serving as a docent at the Meadowlands Museum in Rutherford. 

Ruth was predeceased by nearly all of her closest family and friends of her own generation, including both of her brothers, all of her brothers-in-law, all but one of her sisters-in-law, all of her dear cousins, and all of her lifelong friends. She was also predeceased by one of her daughters-in-law, Carolyn, and by one of her grandsons, Joseph.

Ruth is survived by her five sons, William, Walter (MaryJane), John, Thomas (Karen) and Gary (Lynn); by her four grandsons, Gregory, Adam, Matthew and Christopher and their spouses, by her four granddaughters, Jennifer, Cheryl, Anne and Julia, and their spouses, and by her twenty great-grandchildren: Aiden, Jacob, Jessica, Ryan, Edric, Henry, Jeremy, Reese, Jackson, Fiona, Faith, Colton, Dean, Brielle, Freya, Caleb, Bryce, Astrid, Ethan and Joseph.  Ruth is also survived by her very dear nieces and nephews, by the children of her cousins, by the children of her lifelong friends, and by countless other cherished friends, whom she seemed to collect wherever she went throughout her long life.

In accordance with Ruth’s instructions, she is being cremated, and her ashes will be brought “to a country grave up in the beautiful Catskills, where my grandfather was placed under a beautiful tree more than 70 years ago. I hope you will put my ashes in that peaceful spot (with NO fanfare).”

Ruth’s longtime motto for her family was “Love Grows Here.” In lieu of flowers, please consider planting something in your garden and dedicating it to Ruth. Or, if you prefer, please consider a donation to the American Red Cross or the Girl Scouts of America.

Funeral arrangements have been entrusted to Horizon Funeral & Cremation Services, Toms River, NJ.