Ruth Waterman (Sanford) Wright

In the afternoon hours of September 18, 2020, with her children Ruth and Harold holding her hands and assuring her that the Lord was coming soon to take her home, Ruth Waterman Sanford Wright surely heard the words, “Well done, my good and faithful servant.”

Ruth was the third child of Salvation Army officers Brigadiers Hobart and Dr. Mary Blanche Sanford. Her well-known love of nature started early when she spent summers at Star Lake Camp where her mother served as the camp doctor. She never stopped loving camping, walking in the woods, and exploring the natural wonders of our world.

In 1937, Ruth graduated from Blue Mountain College in Mississippi (where her mother had served as the resident physician) and later that summer entered the School for Officer Training in the Bronx as a member of the “Enthusiast” session. She was commissioned to attend medical training at Buffalo General Hospital. At the Buffalo Citadel Corps, she met a shy and handsome young trombone player named Stanley Wright. He asked her if she had ever seen Niagara Falls (“No”) and said he could take her on Saturday (”Yes”). And so it began. Stanley was commissioned in 1941 and, after waiting the required two years, they married at THQ on 14th Street in July 1943.

Ruth and Stanley were different in many ways but were a perfectly matched team. Their nearly 66 years of marriage were marked by a deep love and respect for each other, along with plenty of laughter. Stanley often said he asked God for a wife but got an angel instead. The Wright family grew quickly with the births of their children Ruth, Harold and Stanley.

When Ruth was asked about her “ambition” in The Salvation Army she replied “to be a good wife of a good corps officer.” Ruth and Stanley loved corps work. Ruth could not have tolerated working behind a desk. She loved the “ministering” part of ministry – the doing, the helping, the comforting and the teaching. She loved the youth activities, the Home League, and the corps family dinners. She was comfortable whether wearing an apron in the corps kitchen or a bonnet on the boardwalk witnessing to strangers.

Ruth loved serving on the staff at Camp Tecumseh teaching nature and respect for God’s creations. She especially enjoyed being Chief Tecumseh. In full costume and feathered headdress, she would enter the campfire circle and quietly share a Native American legend.

After a career of corps work, Ruth and Stanley considered being the administrators of the Retired Officers’ Residence in Asbury Park as the “cherry on top.” This was a special opportunity to minister to the saints of the Army.

After retirement, Ruth took employment as a Home Health Aide (“I like to help people”) and continued to be an active soldier and participant in the Asbury Park Corps. As Stanley’s health began to decline, she devoted herself to tenderly caring for him. When they moved to an assisted living facility in Charlotte, residents told her daughter, “Your mom wants to help everyone.” It’s what she did her entire life.

Ruth was absolutely fierce in her belief that everyone should be treated the same. She could not tolerate bullying or shunning. She saw everyone as a child of God, equally important and worthy of her time and respect. She always looked for and acknowledged the good in others. She was a consistently positive person, always grateful, never complaining.

Ruth loved adventure and was always ready to try something new. She loved to hike, backpack, camp, climb, walk, raft, and star gaze. She visited every state and traveled overseas. In her retirement years, she and son Stanley backpacked and climbed in Alaska, Hawaii, the Adirondacks, Mt. St. Helens, and Mt. Washington. In 1992, she hiked over three miles down Giant Mountain with a broken fibula bone. She rafted the Colorado through the Grand Canyon and slept under the stars. When the Rolling Thunder motorcycle club pulled into her retirement home (she was 99) and asked if anyone wanted a ride, she was at the front of the line. When her son asked her at age 99 if she wanted to go kayaking, she didn’t hesitate.

Ruth was faithful to her calling. She wore the uniform of The Salvation Army but always said she wasn’t working for The Salvation Army, she was working for the Lord through The Salvation Army. Her life was exceptionally long, but more importantly it was full – full of the joy of the Lord, full of service to God and His people, and full of enthusiasm. She was an “Enthusiast” to the end.

Stanley always said “I married an angel”. He did – and she is.

Ruth is being mourned and celebrated by many but especially by her three children, grandchildren Kirsten (Larry) Furlong, Annika (Josh) Cowing, David (Kelly) Wright, Tricia (Ryan) Hackett, Eddie Wright, Tammy (Jeff Esposito) Wright, Shawn (Virginia) Wright, Colin Wright and eight great-grandchildren.

Due to the COVID travel restrictions, a Celebration of Life will be held at a later date.

In honor of Brigadier Wright’s well-known passion for nature study, hiking, and camping, and her long association with Camp Tecumseh, the family has requested any Memorial Gifts be directed to the “Brigadier Ruth Wright Fund” at Camp Tecumseh. The fund will be applied to the camp’s nature project to complete a hiking trail through the woods, including an area for rest and contemplation. Send to The Salvation Army, 4 Gary Road, Union NJ 07083. Please note “Brigadier Ruth Wright fund” on the memo line.