Ruth Florence Huey

Ruth Florence Huey was born March 11, 1921 to Chester and Florence Coulter of Grove City, in western Pennsylvania. Ruth's family owned and operated Lone Pine Dairy. She grew up on the dairy with her three brothers, Theodore, Clyde and Chester and her two sisters, Margaret and Mary.

In 1932 Ruth's Dad hired a young man who had grown up on a farm a few miles away. As the young man, Edward Huey Sr., helped out around the dairy, he and Ruth became well acquainted. By the time Ruth graduated high school in 1938, the two of them were close friends.

By 1940 Edward Sr. had finished a correspondence course to learn the electrician trade. Most nights Ruth had helped him study and prepare for exams. Edward Sr. and Ruth traveled west across the country, eventually settling in Shasta County where Edward Sr. worked as an electrician on the Headtower at the construction site for Shasta Dam. After World War II Edward Sr. and Ruth started and electrical contracting business in Summit City. Ruth was one of the few women at the time able to pass the State Examinations and qualify for her own Electrical Contractor's license.

By 1952, Ed and Ruth had a daughter, Barbara Lee and a young son, Edward Junior. That year Edward Sr. and Ruth bought a house and property in Central Valley (now the City of Shasta Lake). For the next three decades this would be the location for Huey Electric. In 1960 the family was completed with the birth of a son, Ronald Charles. Edward Sr. and Ruth operated their family electrical contracting business from their home on Meade Street until the early 1980's and remained in their home for most of the rest of their lives.

Over the years, Ruth was an active supporter of her community. She was an active member of Shasta Dam Area Community Methodist Church and was a founding member of the Pep Club, a group of women whose purpose was to provide help and assistance in the community wherever it was needed. Ruth served on the county election board for over 40 years, tallying the votes in local, state and national elections. Ruth was appointed to the Shasta County Commission on Aging, representing supervisorial district four, advising the county Board of Supervisors on issues concerning senior citizens in Shasta County. She served on the Commission for more than twenty years.

In Central Valley/Shasta Lake, Ruth gave back to her community by serving more than two decades on the board for the Central Valley Library and working tirelessly on the committee that organizes the annual Shasta Dam Workers Reunion. In recent times she worked as a member of the Shasta Lake Garden Project and as a member of the Shasta Lake Historical Society.

After a rich, full life Ruth passed away into the presence of her Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ on Friday, March 28th. Her husband, Edward Sr., preceded her in death as he passed into glory in 1996. Ruth is survived by her three children, Barbara, Edward Jr, and Ronald; six grandchildren; four great grandchildren and numerous great-great grandchildren.

Ruth was a product of her generation, which had struggled through the deprivations of the Great Depression and through the shortages of World War II. She strongly believed in the old saying,

Use it up,

wear it out,

make it do,

or do without.

She and her husband, Edward Sr, believed that you get ahead by hard work, and instilled this work ethic in their children. One compliment that was especially meaningful to her was when Edward Jr. said to her, "Thank you for preparing us so well to succeed".

The legacy of both Ruth and Edward Sr. will live on in the service and projects they gave to their community. The ongoing tribute to Ruth will be the love, friendship and memories in the hearts and minds of her loved ones, friends and associates. She will be missed, but not forgotten.

A Chapel Service will be held at 2:00 pm on Friday, April 4, 2014, at Lawncrest Chapel, 1522 E Cypress, Redding, CA.