Ruth N. Justice

Ruth Nore was born in 1939 in Lorain, Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland. Her family called her Ruthie. A smart and precocious child, she called her parents Howard and Nola, and liked to eat under the kitchen table. She grew up with an older sister, Marilyn, and several cousins. Since her father taught Math, and her mother taught piano lessons, education was in her blood. She became valedictorian of her high school class, then went to Miami of Ohio, earning a BA and MA in Education. After graduation, she traveled all over Europe with some teacher friends.

Happily, she came back to the United States; otherwise, I wouldn’t be writing this. She met Kenton Justice in Cincinnati because her friend needed a “second,” or she wouldn’t be allowed to invite her boyfriend to her house. This was the early 1960s. Ruth’s bridge skills must have been on point that evening because Kenton fell in love. They married after dating a few months, moved to the Chicago suburbs, and created three very pesky kids.

Though she no longer taught third grade, Ruth took those teaching skills and organized the best birthday parties a kid could ask for with so many fun games, prizes, and treats. She never missed a single recital, choir performance, theatrical production, or sporting event, and there were many of those. In fact, she was so supportive of her kids’ activities, she took piano lessons, like Cindy and Margie, and electric guitar lessons, like Keith. And nobody’s Mom could spout baseball statistics at the Music Shop like she could.

There was never a dull moment with Ruth. She would rise way before anyone in the household, drinking 6 cups of coffee while reading The Tribune. “Another country heard from!” she would exclaim as we shuffled our way to the kitchen, mumbling sleepy responses to her energetic chatter. She would spend the rest of her day rotating among her many activities: crossword puzzles, cleaning the house, bowling, doing laundry, playing tennis, watching Jeopardy, going for walks with neighbor friends, watching the Cubs, playing baseball with us in the park, and cooking every night. She never asked for help. Many hours were also happily spent creating the most beautiful and unique crocheted blankets to give away as wedding or baby gifts.

Our parents supported all three of us through college and helped immensely with the grandchildren who came along: Abby (the only girl, much to Ruth’s chagrin), Caleb, Pierce, Louie, Jamie, Vaughn, and Jake.

One of Ruth’s special talents was her amazing memory, so it was concerning when she started forgetting little things and repeating herself. The slow deterioration of a once brilliant mind and active body is terrible to witness. But we do not want to dwell upon the challenges Ruth faced losing Ken and then living with dementia for the last several years. What we would like to leave you with is a picture of the vibrant, kind, open-minded, and loving person she was.

If you would like to donate in Ruth’s honor, please consider the Alzheimer’s Association.

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