On Sept. 23, 2007, 86, at peace and surrounded by her family, Ruth Elizabeth Francis went to be with her Savior. She now too, has victory over death. May your unfailing love rest upon us, O Lord, even as we put our hope in you. Psalm 33:22. In her later years Ruth lived this verse. In 1996 she began trusting Jesus Christ as Savior because of what He had done for her on the cross. And she too believed in His Resurrection.
Ruth was born on Dec. 24, 1920, in Seattle, Wash., to Alexander and Lorena Brosche. She grew up in the Seattle area and graduated from Roosevelt High School in 1939. As Ruth was finishing her senior year, her father passed away.
After high school Ruth went into the banking industry. During that time she met Robert Francis. He had grown up in Long Beach, Calif. Just before the attack on Pearl Harbor he had enlisted in the Navy and was based in Seattle. They met, fell in love, and were married in Las Vegas, Nev., on Jan. 1, 1946.
They began their life together and eventually raised three children. During those early years Robert rejoined the military by enlisting in the Coast Guard in 1955. He served there until 1960. Much of that five years Ruth became a single mom as he was out to sea a lot of the time. Ruth then got back into the banking business in the early 1960s until she retired in the mid 1980s. During that time her mother, Lorena, became ill and died in 1981.
Ruth enjoyed many things in life. Among those were her love for birds, her flower gardens, baseball, country music, going out to dinner and traveling by car. She also had a great love for her family.
Ruth is now reunited with her husband, Robert, who passed away last year. They had been married for 60 years. She is also reunited with her younger brother, Paul, who died in infancy when Ruth was two years old.
Ruth is survived by her three children, Kay (Jerry) Jacobson, of Lynnwood, Wash., Mike Francis, of Des Moines, Wash., and Steve (Beth) Francis, of Arlington, Wash. She is also survived by her brother, Dean (Lou) Brosche, of Santa Monica, Calif.; grandchildren, Jamie Francis and Ben Francis; many other relatives and friends, including her close friend, Marilyn Morrell, of California.
Ruth also had many friends from the Village at Granite Falls where she resided her last year.
Special thanks to the staff at Everett Providence Hospital, for their care of Ruth in her last days here. In the Bible, Galatians 5:22 mentions the fruit of the Spirit as love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control, Ruth possessed all of these and she will be missed by all who knew her. We trust that we will see her again. Colossians 3:23-24.