Vivian Ruth Hofto's Obituary
Vivian Ruth Hofto passed away on July 22, 2019 in University Place, WA. Born in Black Diamond, WA May 13, 1910, she was one of four children of parents Jane Dunn Ayers and George Ayers. Her father George was a coal miner who often needed to move family to other mining towns. From age four to eight she and her family lived in Issaquah and later she graduated from Cle Elum High School. The family moved to Tacoma around 1928, where she met Henry Hofto, marrying him in 1934. During the depression years, jobs were scarce, but Ruth found a job at JC Penny department store and helped to support her family. Henry was a musician and a builder. Ruth helped him with his business and also pursued her love of art and crafts. She was very active in Lakewood Artists, Tacoma Arts and Crafts, Allied Artists, and exhibited her multimedia works extensively in juried shows, winning many awards. She loved doing oils and acrylic landscapes, paper collage, woodcuts, and copper enamels. At 97 years old Ruth was asked to give a gallery showing of her works at Lakewood Library. She was still creating new works up until the time of her first stroke in 2009, which left her with impaired vision and hearing and some loss of speech. Some of her paintings hang in Black Diamond Historical Museum and Issaquah Museum, depicting how it looked long ago. Ruth loved traveling with Henry and daughter Jacqueline, taking many cross-country and continent trips to attend Jacqueline's musical competitions and performances. Ruth and Henry celebrated 64 years of marriage before Henry passed away in 1999. On Ruth's 107th birthday, the mayor of University Place honored her with a special proclamation and King 5 News interviewed her at a party, sharing the video with several local television stations. She had a wonderful life and was an inspiration to all who met her. Ruth is survived by daughter Jacqueline Hofto and nieces Jane Elizabeth Ayers and Susan Cisco. The family is grateful for the loving care Ruth received during the last seven months at Villa Cynthia Adult Family Home and Franciscan Hospice, University Place, WA. In lieu of flowers, the family would like donations to be made to Washington Talking Book and Braille Library 2021 9th Ave Seattle WA 98121-2783, online www.wtbbl.org.
What’s your fondest memory of Vivian?
What’s a lesson you learned from Vivian?
Share a story where Vivian's kindness touched your heart.
Describe a day with Vivian you’ll never forget.
How did Vivian make you smile?