Ruth M. Barrett's Obituary
Ruth Mary Barrett
12/27/1915 - 5/29/2011
Ruth Mary was born on December 27, 1915 to Margaret and Eugene Larin, the fourth child in a family of five siblings. Ruth Mary lived in Washington State all her life. She graduated from Whatcom High School in Bellingham, and attended Beutel Business School in Tacoma. Her father Eugene was a small-town newspaper owner and editor all his life, starting in North Dakota, and in this state owned the Enumclaw Herald, retiring with the Eatonville Dispatch. Ruth Mary worked in the office doing reporting, press operator and linotype operator, in other words an all-round newspaperman in the 1930's. In 1936 she married Louis Cox. They lived in Tacoma throughout their 40-year marriage. Together they had two daughters, Dicey Lee and Judith. They were separated by his death in 1976. Ruth Mary later married William (Bill) Barrett, and they had 10 happy years of retirement and travel before his death in 1990. Mr. Barrett was the owner and founder of the first private driving school in the city, "The Tacoma Driving School." During her working years, Ruth Mary spent a total of 26 years working first at Rhodes Department Store, then in the office of Peerless Laundry, and finally retiring from the office of Doctor Carl Peterson. She was a member of Fircrest Presbyterian Church, a member of Warren Chapter O.E.S., and a retired member of Retail Clerks Union and the office workers division of the Teamsters Union. Besides her husbands, she was predeceased by her oldest daughter Dicey Lee Hale in 1996. She is survived by her devoted daughter Judith (Judie) Montgomery, six grandchildren, six great-grandchildren, one great-great-grandchild, eight nieces and nephews, and their children. A memorial service will be held on Saturday, June 4th, 2011 at noon at Fircrest Presbyterian Church, 1250 Emerson St. (40th), Fircrest, WA. A light lunch and time of fellowship will follow. Arrangements by Mountain View Funeral Home.
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