Ruby Olive Sharon

July 19, 1909 -- February 24, 2015

Ruby passed away peacefully after a long, beautiful life, just 5 months away from her 106th birthday, at Western Hills Health Care in Lakewood, Colorado.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Enos and Florence Vaughn; her brothers Stewart & Ivan; her husbands, Wesley W. Webb, Edmond Gallagher, & Tom Sharon; and her great granddaughter, Laura Shreck. She is survived by her 2 daughters, Lois Fentress and Marilyn Smith; her 8 grand-children,

Debbie Hauserman, Diane Cousins, Yvonne Liverant, Barbara Weisiger, Steven Shreck, Cindy Huffman, Juli Smith, & Richard Smith; her 13 great-grandchildren, Mark & Greg Hauserman, Lisa Lischka, Chris & Joe Cousins, Cara Phillips, Tyson Liverant, Jeff, Jon, & Emily Weisiger, Stephanie Gillingham, Jessica Shreck, & Nicolas Smith; Her 11 great-great grand-Children, Anna, Luke, & Mason Hauserman; Nicholas & Jacob Lischka; Courtney & Elizabeth Phillips; Kylee & Hannah Liverant; and Roy & Ruby Gillingham. Her family was the most beloved part of her life, and she was always there to support them in any way she could, as long as she was able to. She meant the world to her family and her life was blessed by the goodness of everyone in her family, including her "in-laws", Larry Hauserman, Terry Liverant, Dan Weisiger, Catherine Shreck, Michael Lischka, Justin Phillips, Christina Liverant, Joel Huffman & Brian Gillingham. Ruby was born in Sumner Oklahoma. The family moved to Goldfield, Colorado (near Victor) when she was a small child. Her father worked in the gold mines there. They moved back to Oklahoma for a time, and when her parents divorced, she stayed with her father in Oklahoma and her mother and brothers moved to Denver. They lived on a farm with her paternal grandparents. Life was pretty hard for her there as she was expected to do a lot of the cooking and cleaning at the age of 9. Of course there was no plumbing or electricity. She learned to drive a car when she was very young in a field at the farm. She moved to Denver with her mother in her teens. She has lived in Colorado for the rest of her life. She married Wesley Webb and they bought a home at 66 Garfield St. in Denver. They had two daughters, and were a very happy family. Ruby kept busy with her children and extended family. She was a super home maker, doing things like canning fruits, vegetables, preserves, and chili sauce to last for the winter and help with the struggles of the great depression of that era. She hosted many huge family dinners and was always an excellent cook. She took on a variety of jobs she could do at home, was active helping out at Ellsworth School, the PTA, and was a diligent worker at elections. Ruby and Wes divorced after he returned from service in the Navy after World War II. He served on a ship in the Pacific for a long time, until the war ended. He came back a different man in changing times, and sadly they were not able to save their marriage. She went to work at Elitch Gardens as a cocktail waitress and also worked at J.C. Penney, as well as several other

jobs. She often worked two or three jobs at once. Then she got a job as a teller at Midland Federal Savings & Loan, where she did very well and worked her way up to Head Teller. She worked there until her retirement. She married Ed Gallagher and they moved to Littleton, and later to Denver where they were

very happy in their lovely Condo on South Grant Street. Her daughters grew up, got married and both moved far away -- Lois to Canada and Marilyn to Georgia. This was very hard for her, but they both eventually moved back to Colorado and Ruby reveled in the joy of her grandchildren. Ruby and Ed took many road trips, and on one of their trips to California, Ed became very ill and he died in Utah. One can only imagine how hard this was for her, but she was very strong and carried on with her job and family. During her loneliness and despair, she met Tom Sharon, who helped her emotionally during this difficult time. They married and were happy for a time, but the marriage did not work out and ended in divorce after a few years. She continued to work and support herself. She was always proud that she "paid-off" her home and felt a great sense of accomplishment. She loved having her family visit for swimming

and to enjoy her cooking and beautiful yard filled with flowers. She was very independent and enjoyed life to the fullest, traveling, going to movies and performances, socializing with her many friends, and even volunteering at the local elementary school helping children with reading. She lived alone in her condo, driving her big red and white Thunderbird around town until she was 93 years old. Then she had a medical emergency and was in intensive care for 12 days. She was not expected to live, but pulled through. She entered rehabilitation at Western Hills Health Care. No longer able to live alone, she then moved to a nice little apartment at The Homestead, Assisted Living Facility. She adjusted to this very well and enjoyed her life there, but after 3 years she

fell and broke her hip. She had surgery and again went to Western Hills for re-hab. This time she stayed there for 6 months, but improved enough to move to Assisted living at The Verandas. She was not happy there and so she moved to the mountains to live with Bill & Marilyn Smith. She lived there for 5 years, which was a blessing for all of us. Then, she fell again and broke the other hip. At 101 years old, she again had surgery and went back to Western Hills. She was never able to walk again, so she stayed at the nursing home for 4 years, until her death. She had a hard time adjusting at first with all her medical problems and slight dementia, but the people at the nursing home were very good to her and she finally accepted it as home. Her daughters took turns and tried to visit her every day for all those years. She did so much to help them through all their trials of life, that they wanted to be there for her when she

needed them. She never wanted to end up in a nursing home, but she made the best of it and enjoyed the activities, music, and people. Even after she lost her sight, she never complained. She made everyone laugh with her very funny "one-liners" and many people said they couldn't wait to hear what she would say next! She said a sense of humor makes you live longer, and she was living proof of that. Ruby was doing well until about a week before her death, and while she was transitioning, she seemed at peace. It felt to everyone who came to pay their respects, that she knew them and understood what they were saying even though she was not able to respond much of the time. It is comforting to believe that all these many expressions of love were a great comfort to her. She was a very brave, courageous, generous, and kind lady who will be greatly missed, and highly esteemed by all.

Services will be at 3:00pm on Sat., Mar. 7, 2015 at Olinger Crown Hill, Chapel of Peace. Her cremated remains will be scattered at Olinger Mt. Lindo Cemetery.