Ruth Elizabeth Green

Ruth Elizabeth Green
April 20, 1915 - March 04, 2010
Portland, Oregon
Visitation: 10:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. March 12, 2010 at Powell Funeral Home - Sigourney
Funeral Service: 11:00 a.m. March 12, 2010 at Powell Funeral Home - Sigourney
Interment: March 12, 2010 at Pleasant Grove Cemetery
Ruth Elizabeth Green, 94, of Portland, Oregon, died March 4, 2010, at the home of her son and daughter-in-law after a long illness. Born April 20, 1915 in Sigourney, she was the youngest child of Gildra Joseph and Elizabeth Kriese Jones. Her father died in an accident six months before her birth, but her mother, brother and sisters provided a nurturing home. Ruth graduated from Sigourney High School in 1933 and worked for the New Deal's Agricultural Adjustment Administration and the Keokuk County Farm Bureau in Sigourney during the Depression and WWII. She married another hometown native, James W. Green, Jr., on November 11, 1948 at the Sigourney Christian Church. Jim Green was owner-operator of the Perfection Dairy in Sigourney at the time. In 1952, Ruth, Jim and their only child, Pat, moved to Waterloo after Jim took a job with the Carnation Milk Company. The family subsequently lived in Mason City, where Ruth sold Avon products, and later returned to Waterloo. During this time Ruth provided a loving and well-kept home for Jim and Pat. In 1966 the family moved to Portland, Oregon, again at the behest of Jim's work with Carnation Milk. Jim died suddenly in 1970, but Ruth independently maintained their house until July of last year when she entered hospice care. After Pat and Susan were married, Ruth actively participated in the lives of her grandchildren, Elizabeth, Margaret and Sarah. "Nana" was always ready to provide adoring care and support. Ruth enjoyed gardening and reading, especially about the Nation's First Ladies, and was an enthusiastic follower of the Portland Trailblazers basketball team. Ruth was never happier than when she could have her family over for dinner and an evening rooting for the Blazers. She served on the election board in Portland for many years and was active in her church, working in the library and as a deacon. Most recently she provided much love to her great-grandchildren, Lily Mae and Elliot Henry James. Ruth was preceded in death by her mother, her brother, Harold Jones of Sigourney, her sisters, Gertrude Kerr and Margaret Davidson, also of Sigourney, and Genevieve Legg, of San Diego, California. She is survived by her daughter-in-law and son, granddaughters Elizabeth Hartman, Margaret James and Sarah Green, sons-in-law Chris Hartman and Brian James, her great-grandchildren, all of whom live in the Portland metro area; a niece, Sally Glandon of Sigourney; nephews Ron Legg of Grand Junction, Colorado, Michael Bain of Salina, Kansas, and Terry Bain of Dallas, Texas. Funeral services will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Friday, March 12, 2010, at the Powell Funeral Home in Sigourney, with Pastor Jim Bringman officiating. Interment will be at the Pleasant Grove Cemetery in Sigourney. Visitation will be from 10:00 a.m. until service time Friday at the funeral home. The family suggests donations be made to Adventist Health Hospice of Portland, Oregon. Powell Funeral Home and Cremation Service in Sigourney is handling local arrangements. Condolences may be e-mailed at www.powellfuneralhomes.com under obituaries.