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Name: Ruth Lillian Hoekstra |
Gender: Female  |
Birth:
16 January 1919 -- Grand Rapids, Kent, Michigan Death: 25 August 2001 -- Grand Rapids, Kent, Michigan |
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Ruth Lillian Hoekstra (I06693)
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  Events of close relatives | |
| Birth | 16 January 1919 Grand Rapids, Kent, Michigan |
| Birth of a sibling | 26 November 1920 (Age 22 months) Sister: Hope Milded Hoekstra (I06696) |
| Birth of a sibling | 5 June 1923 (Age 4) Sister: Mary Louise Hoekstra (I06699) |
| Marriage | 11 September 1943 (Age 24) William Valk Junction City, Geary, Kansas |
| Death of a grand-parent | 11 December 1943 (Age 24) Grandmother: Jennie Ton (I06679) (Age 76) |
| Death of a grand-parent | 12 December 1944 (Age 25) Grandfather: Martin Hoekstra (I06633) (Age 76) |
| Fact 1 | 23 April 1946 (Age 27) William ValkGrand Rapids, Kent, Michigan |
| Marriage | 3 October 1948 (Age 29) Adrian DeVries Wyoming Township, Kent, Michigan |
| Death of a father's sibling | 26 August 1955 (Age 36) Uncle: Peter Louis Hoekstra (I06702) (Age 59) |
| Death of mother | 10 September 1967 (Age 48) Mother: Lillian Fern Strong (I06692) (Age 70) |
| Death of a sibling | 10 July 1968 (Age 49) Sister: Hope Milded Hoekstra (I06696) (Age 47) |
| Death of a father's sibling | 20 July 1975 (Age 56) Aunt: Grace Hoekstra (I06680) (Age 88) |
| Death of father | 27 December 1975 (Age 56) Father: John Martin Hoekstra (I06691) (Age 83) |
| Death of spouse | 10 October 1989 (Age 70) Spouse: William Valk (I06694) (Age 76) |
| Death of a father's sibling | 2 November 1991 (Age 72) Aunt: Maude Mae Hoekstra (I06686) (Age 101) |
| Death of a sibling | May 1994 (Age 75) Sister: Mary Louise Hoekstra (I06699) (Age 70) |
| Birth of a child #1 | 
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| Death | 25 August 2001 (Age 82) Grand Rapids, Kent, Michigan |
| Social Security Number | 375-18-4891 Source: USA Social Security Death Index Source Text: Name: Ruth L. Devries SSN: 375-18-4891 Last Residence: 49504 Grand Rapids, Kent, Michigan, United States of America Born: 16 Jan 1919 Died: 25 Aug 2001 State (Year) SSN issued: Michigan (Before 1951 ) |
| Burial | Fairplains Cemetery, Grand Rapids, Kent, Michigan |
| Last Change | 10 November 2007 - 22:25:50 Last changed by: Admin |
 Note |
Mrs. Ruth DeVries, aged 82, graduated to glory on Saturday, August 25, 2001, and went to be with her eternal Father. She is survived by her husband of 53 years; [three] children; six grandchildren; six great-grandchildren. Mrs. DeVries was a member of Plainfield United Methodist Church and longtime member of the United Methodist Women, where she served several times as President. Funeral services will be held Wednesday at 2 p.m. at the Plainfield United Methodist Church, 214 Spencer NE, with her pastor officiating. Interment in Fairplains Cemetery. Friends may meet the family at the funeral home on Tuesday from 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 p.m. and at the church on Wednesday for one hour prior to the service. Expressions of sympathy may be mailed tot he funeral home or sent via the website. VAN STRIEN CRESTON CHAPEL 1833 Plainfield NE Heritage Funeral Service www.heritagefuneralservice.com (from Grand Rapids [Michigan] Press, Monday, 27 August 2001, online) ------------------------- When Ruth and her family moved back to Grand Rapids, Michigan from Tacoma, Washington, they lived with their Uncle Ed Strong and his wife, Vi. This home was right across the street from the home of Ruth's future husband, Adrian DeVries. Later, Ruth's family moved to an apartment over a drugstore. Ruth was born in Blodgett Hospital in Grand Rapids, as were her youngest two children. She and her sister, Hope, attended a special school in Grand Rapids for children with health problems. I believe it was called an "open-air" school. There was an emphasis on outdoor exercise, rest, and nutritous food. Ruth's weak heart, caused by rheumatic fever, qualified her for this school. Hope was small for her age, and also attended. Ruth liked gardening and was an avid letter writer before she became blind due to macular degeneration. ------------------------------ Ruth Lillian Hoekstra, was born on 16 January 1919 in Blodgett Hospital, Grand Rapids, Kent County, Michigan. She was the oldest of three daughters of John Martin Hoekstra and Lillian Fern "Mary" Strong; her sisters were Hope Mildred Hoekstra (Mrs. Richard Vern Loveland) (1920 - 1968) and Mary Louise Hoekstra (Mrs. John Peter Glashower, Jr.) (1923 - 1994). Her name Ruth means "friend" in Hebrew, and she truly lived up to her name. She loved people, and nothing pleased her more than visiting others in person, on the telephone, or through the many letters she wrote in her lifetime. Not long after Ruth was born, her parents moved across country to Tacoma, Pierce County, Washington to be near her paternal grandparents and Uncle Louis Hoekstra's family. When the 1920 Federal Census was taken, they were living on 58th Street, while Uncle Louis, Aunt Reatha and their cousin Reatha Jane were living over on 54th Street. During their time in Tacoma, Ruth's younger sister Hope was born. The three girls often played together. Ruth's father had difficulty finding work after a strike, so the family returned to Grand Rapids. When they first returned, they lived with their Uncle Ed and Aunt Vi Strong, who had four girls who were "stair-stepped" between Ruth and her sisters (Mary Lou was born in Grand Rapids in 1923). At little later, the family lived in an apartment above a drugstore. By 1927, Ruth's parents had bought a house at 1815 Newark Avenue, S.E., where the family lived for many years. For a while, Ruth and Hope attended an "open-air school", which was created as a public health measure against the spread of tuberculosis, but was open to children with any range of health problems. There was an emphasis on outdoor exercise, rest, and nutritious food. Ruth's weak heart, caused by rheumatic fever, qualified her for this school. Hope was small for her age, and so also qualified. The last few years of her life, she struggled both with heart problems due to her weakened heart from childhood, and blindness caused by macular degeneration. Her feisty spirit was evident though, for she continued to write letters and play the piano despite her dimming sight. Her love of literature was satisfied by books on tape and the many hours her husband spent patiently reading and re-reading her favorite books. She had committed many Bible passages to memory, which sustained her during those tough times. On 25 August 2001, at St. Mary's Hospital, Grand Rapids, she passed away peacefully after listening to her family and pastor gather around her hospital bed to pray and sing her favorite hymns. She was buried four days later at Fairplains Cemetery. |
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 Multimedia Object |  William & Ruth Valk
Format: jpg Image Dimensions: 300 x 374 Type: photo |
Multimedia Object |  Ruth and Hope Hoekstra 1921
Format: jpg Image Dimensions: 150 x 216 Type: photo |
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