Ruth Lea Campbell

Ruth Campbell passed to eternal life on October 4, 2023, at the age of 98. She was born in Lynn, Massachusetts on May 30, 1925, to Ivan and Leona Comeau. Her parents immigrated from Canada, and she was always proud of her French-Canadian heritage. And also very proud of being a drum majorette.

A graduate of Saugus High School, she married Philemon Landry at 18, a high school sweetheart and Navy sailor. Philemon was assigned to Norfolk, and Ruth had her first child Patricia Ann (now Zoe). Sadly, Ruth was widowed at 21 when Philemon was killed in an airplane crash in 1947.

Returning to Massachusetts, Ruth met Joseph Campbell, another Navy sailor, and married again in 1949. They were married for 56 years. They had three boys, William, Colin, and James.

During Joe’s navy career, they lived in Coronado, San Diego at a small home on 4th St. and J, which they purchased for $15,000. Then to the Naval Air Station in Brunswick, Maine; and then to the American naval base at Rota, Spain. Ruth loved southern Spain, and they took frequent trips to Sevilla, Grenada, and Gibraltar. Upon Joe’s retirement from the Navy, they moved to Tucson, Arizona in 1960 and never moved again. They had never been to Tucson but thought it would be like Southern Spain. It was as hot as Sevilla in the summer, that’s for sure.

Unusual for a woman of her generation, Ruth worked outside the home, and loved it. She worked in a law office in Boston, and at the Brunswick Mill Outlet. Beginning as an assistant for the IRS in Tucson, she worked her way up through different government agencies to be the administrative head of the Department of Agriculture Bee Research Center. When Joe retired from his post-Navy career at the University of Arizona, Ruth retired soon after and became a real estate agent, her dream job.

Ruth loved her family, and she took great joy in every accomplishment, no matter how small. She kept track of all their Navy friends through their different postings and made new friends at work and through her many real estate clients. She always could make time for a chat, a piece of advice, or a smile. If loyalty could be named as a person, Ruth was loyalty.

Later in life, Joe and Ruth became actively involved with the U.S.S. Arizona Reunion Association, an association of survivors from the USS Arizona and kin of the shipmates who lost their lives on December 7, 1941. Joe’s brother, William Goodwin, was one of those shipmates on the Arizona that fateful day. Ruth organized/orchestrated many trips to Honolulu and the Arizona Memorial for the Association on the anniversaries of the Pearl Harbor attack – she was indefatigable! They established a scholarship fund at the University of Arizona Foundation in honor of William Goodwin for ROTC students and were involved in numerous efforts to preserve the memory of the men of the USS Arizona. A plaque honoring their efforts is on the bell tower on the University to Arizona campus, across from the outline of the battleship on the mall.

Ruth was widowed a second time when Joe passed in November 2006. She missed him every day. She remained active with her many friends – especially active at the local casino’s blackjack tables or slots. Until her last years, she presided over a Thanksgiving extended family gathering (plus any friend or acquaintance she could cajole into coming) in Tucson. The turkey-eating could not start without everyone gathering in a circle and sharing what they were thankful for. To take the words of Gerald Manley Hopkins, she could say at her death that “I loved life!”

Ruth is survived by her children Zoe (Lynn), Bill (Marjorie), Colin (Erin) and Jim (Kathy). She leaves behind 15 grandchildren and 20 great grandchildren. We all grieve, but also are full of gratitude and joy for the gift of her life and presence.

The family is hosting a Celebration of Life and Open House at 4060 North Via Bronzino in Tucson on Saturday October 28th from 2-5 pm. Rather than flowers the family is asking for donations to the Campbell-Goodwin Endowment at the University of Arizona. The Endowment can be reached at:

https://give.uafoundation.org/goodwincampbellendowment

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.ShadowMountainMortuary.com for the Campbell family.