Margaret Arruda's Obituary
Born in Ele’ele, Kauai, Hawaii to Joseph and Mildred Gomes, Margaret was one of ten children. She passed in peace, surrounded by her family, in Vancouver, Washington, on November 10, 2015.
Margaret spent her early life in Ele’ele with her family, and worked at the Kekaha Sugar Company, until she moved to Honolulu in 1946. There, she took a position with the Mutual Telephone Company and met her future husband, Edward Arruda, whom she married in 1948. They were married for over 63 years until Ed passed away in 2012.
Ed had enlisted in the U.S. Army ahead of World War II, and continued his service following armistice. So began Margaret’s life as a military wife. Their first tour of duty took them to the Philippines, where their son, Michael, was born. Thereafter, military assignments took Margaret and her husband to Washington state, where their second son, Patrick, was born and on to Puerto Rico. They returned to the US for domestic tours of duty in Oregon, where their daughter, Rosemary, was born, followed by tours of duty in California, Arizona and Alaska. When time permitted, Margaret volunteered her time at the American Red Cross and the Army Community Service (ACS) Volunteer Program, where she was recognized as Volunteer of the Year in Arizona in 1970.
Margaret was a loyal military wife for the thirty-plus years of Ed’s distinguished military career, supporting him through each new assignment, and caring for their growing family of three children. During this time they made life-long friends. Shortly after Ed retired to the Tacoma, Washington, area in 1976, Margaret began a career in banking, where she joined Great Northwest Savings & Loan in its Fircrest branch, and took on increasingly responsible roles until her retirement as Operations Manager of the branch in 1990.
Margaret had a gentle disposition that gained her the friendship of everyone she met. She treated everyone around her with respect and compassion, including the many caregivers that looked after her as she moved gracefully into her twilight years, living at assisted care facilities at Patriot’s Landing and Frank Tobey Jones in the Tacoma area, and finally at The Quarry in Vancouver, Washington.
Margaret is survived by her children, Michael, Patrick and Rosemary (and their spouses, Susan, Janis and Kevin), her sister, Roselani, her grandchildren, Rachel, Jonathan and Sarah, great grandson, Miles, and nieces and nephews in Hawaii and the Mainland.
A memorial service will be held on Sunday, November 15, 2015, at 11:00 a.m. in the Garden Chapel at Mountain View Memorial Park, 4300 Steilacoom Boulevard, SW, Tacoma Washington, followed by interment beside her beloved husband, Ed.
Aloha ‘Oe, Margaret. We will miss you.
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