She was born on June 18, 1927 in Covington, Kentucky to Luella Carr Due and Edward August Due. Ruth was the middle child to sisters Dorothy May Gatewood and Scherrie Anne Provenzano. She graduated from Holmes High School in Covington and subsequently took great pride working as a bank teller which can be seen in the picture.
In 1950 after meeting Gordon Luessen at Epworth Methodist Church in Covington, they married and had 50 years together before Gordon’s passing in 2001. Ruth and Gordon had six children of which the last two were twins, which was an unforeseen surprise. They were fortunate to share a rich life moving across the country as Gordon’s job with Boeing changed. Ruth’s favorite home was in Huntsville, Alabama and she often spoke fondly of her time there.
Ruth had many passions including ceramics, cake decorating, working in her yard, playing backgammon and collecting bears. She and Gordon were excellent Ballroom Dancers and spent many Saturday Nights dancing in Seattle. In her later years, Ruth worked at the Christmas House in Bellevue and managed the Christmas House in Issaquah. She also worked at Secret Garden in Factoria. She enjoyed merchandizing and always wanted to open her own shop. In place of a brick and mortar shop, she and her daughter owned and operated an online gift store out of Ruth’s House for the last 15 years of her life called Ladybug Gift Store. At one point they were doing so well that merchandise filled three bedrooms of Ruth’s Home.
She was pre-deceased by her husband Gordon, and her sister Dorothy. Ruth is survived by her sister Scherrie and her six children Bonnie (Mike), Chris, Brian, Ron (Kathy), Warren and Deron (Lynda).
In closing, the following “Mother’s Prayer” written by Ruth’s GrandMother, Alice Elizabeth Pigg Carr, brings to mind how each and every day Ruth and Gordon demonstrated the value of family. Mother’s Prayer, "May God bless each one of these precious children and may they so live that when they die they may form a family in Heaven."
The following is Ruth's Personal Message to those that survived her:
In Loving Memory of Ruth Due Luessen
I’d like the memory of me to be a happy one.
I’d like to leave an afterglow of smiles when life is done.
I’d like to leave an echo whispering softly down the ways,
Of happy times and laughing times and bright and sunny days.
I’d like the tears of those who grieve, to dry before the sun;
Of happy memories that I leave when life is done.
Love, Mother
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