Ruth Van Hoosen Kaye

Ruth Kaye passed away in her sleep at the age of 97. She was the beloved daughter, sister, niece, wife, mother, grandmother, aunt of the Kaye and Van Hoosen family and dear friend of many. She was born the daughter of an apple farmer in Yakima, Washington, the only girl of a family of 4 children. She loved to sing, ride horses, and was the narrator of all her family’s lives. She found life full and her friends she held close, forever.

Ruth had the ability to remember details of her family and painstakingly kept the family history and ancestry documents. She kept the rest of use aware of how close our family was, what individuals they were, and how they impacted all of our lives. . Ruth left Yakima in 1940 and became a radio telegraph typist in the communications room in Mare Island Naval Shipyard. She lived with her two great Aunts, Grace and Orinda, and spend the entire war years in Vallejo, California. Her favorite city in the whole world was San Francisco. In 1943, she met John Kaye, a Navy lieutenant stationed on USS Minneapolis, who was to become the love of her life. John came back after 2 years at war, and proposed to her in 1945. It was a momentous culmination of a romance kept alive by letters. They were married in May 1945, 10 days after John’s proposed.

To capture Ruth’s life afterwards would take pages. In summary, Ruth followed John wherever he was stationed, endured long separations during the Korean War, and managed the Kaye family and Navy wives during John’s many deployments to the Western Pacific. John and Ruth made the perfect couple and parents. They were adventurous, bestowed the gifts of patience and understanding on their two boys, and never let the family become second in their lives. They were humble people, and showed their sons how to give respect for life and family, and not shirk responsibility. They were the rocks of so many lives. They mentored and cared for their sons in the tough times, and gave of themselves without hesitation.

Ruth was full of curiosity and friendship. She couldn’t help find the good in everything and everyone who she came across. Her stories were famous, her unabashed humor about silly things was infectious, and her Irish tenacity was something to be reckoned with. Ruth considered herself second in intelligence to everyone else. Of course the opposite was true. She had common sense, language skills, organized to the hilt, a master dissertation typist, etc. Ruth was a giver, a listener, a friend, and a lover of people from every part of the world.

After the many places Ruth lived following John around, the most spectacular footnote of Ruth’s life was she sought even more adventures after retirement. They settled in Reno, Nevada where John was a professor at the University of Nevada Reno. After 12 years, John became an extension school professor and they traveled, living in Spain, Turkey, Germany, Italy, and England. After that, Ruth lived with John in Po, France where she became fluent in French. Finally in the 90’s, they spent glorious years living in Paris for 6 months and New York City for 6 months. They always stayed close to their family, and their grandkids always enjoyed their adventures visiting them. The world was their neighborhood, and everyone learned how to be friends with John and Ruth Kaye.

Ruth and John moved to Capitol Hill in Seattle in the late 90’s where they lived until John passed away in 2003. Seattle was the final home base after all these years, and the greater Kaye and Van Hoosen family rejoiced in having them close. Ruth cared for John when he became ill, and their lives were full to his last days. Ruth moved to Northern Virginia in 2005, and joined the east coast family in adventures and memories until she passed in 2020. Her greatest gift in these years was her devotion to her 7 great grandchildren, who responded with great love for Grandma GG. She was a member of the greatest generation, an amazing witness and contributor to our country’s greatness.