Ruth Batstone's Obituary
IN LOVING MEMORYRuth Batstone of El Granada, California passed away on May 4, 2014, at the age of 83. As a wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, mentor and friend, Ruth valued and invested in the relationships in her life until her last day. Following 10 months of battling lung cancer, Ruth peacefully passed into heaven into the presence of her most treasured relationship, Jesus Christ. Ruth was born on December 3, 1930 in Champaign, Illinois to Edgar and Eva Mae Hilderbrand. She loved her childhood in Champaign and developed lifelong ties there. After her graduation from Champaign Central High School, Ruth attended Nurse’s Training at West Suburban Hospital in Oak Park, Illinois, where she received her diploma as a Registered Nurse. It was while there that she met her husband, Donald Batstone. They were married on September 12, 1952, and recently celebrated 61 years of marriage. Ruth and Don have three children, Linda of Oakdale, MN, and Don and David of El Granada, CA.Don and Ruth lived in many different places including Schenectady, New York, and Skokie, Illinois, before settling in Champaign, Illinois where they lived for 12 years. In 1970, the family moved to Peoria, Illinois, where they lived until Don and Ruth retired to Leesburg, Florida. In 2000, they made the cross-country move to Half Moon Bay, California, to live close to David and his family, where they have resided to this day.Ruth loved the profession of Nursing and dedicated over 40 years to her career. She began her career as a staff nurse in Labor and Delivery and the Operating Room. She loved teaching and mentoring students, and eventually began teaching Nursing in the Methodist Hospital School of Nursing. She valued the meaningful input into student’s lives, and many attributed their love for nursing to the time spent under Ruth’s teaching. During this period, Ruth became a student herself as she pursued and completed her Bachelor of Science in Nursing Degree from Bradley University in 1978. Shortly thereafter, an opportunity to provide leadership at Methodist Medical Center as the Director of Surgical Services took Ruth back to the Operating Room where she served until her retirement in 1995. In addition to her leadership at Methodist, Ruth was also very active in the Association of Operating Room Nursing (AORN), where she held many local and national positions. As one of her contributions, Ruth wrote and produced an educational video, Care of the Patient in Ambulatory Surgery which was used for teaching nurses across the country (and in which she gave Linda a starring role!) Ruth’s joy for nursing was contagious, as evidenced by the fact that her daughter Linda and granddaughter Amy both chose a career in nursing.Ruth was known for her consistent caring, unending advocacy and unconditional love. She had a strong faith in Jesus Christ, and this was reflected in her love for people and the self-less support she provided others. In particular, she and Don provided guidance to and had an impact on many young people, including leading a ministry to Young Married Couples at Grace Presbyterian Church in Peoria for many years. Ruth was a good listener and always interested in others. “Ruth would not have to work hard at connecting. She was a good listener and interested in others.” Don and Ruth’s home was always open, and their hospitality was warm, friendly, and generous. One family member characterizes her as “grounded, smart and honest, and unconditional in showing her love. She saw the best in everyone”.Ruth loved to travel, and particularly enjoyed post-retirement when she and Don saw the country in their RV. Over some five years they covered the 48 contiguous states. A highlight for Ruth was her recent trip to Italy with Linda and her two daughters, Amy and Emily. Since Amy was pregnant with her daughter Grace at the time, Ruth never failed to characterize the trip as “Four Generations of Women in Italy”. It was a trip of a lifetime for each.Anyone who knew Ruth might describe her as having a camera in one hand and an oven mitt in the other. Ruth loved photography, and pictures became her hobby. The advent of the digital age lightened the load on the pocketbook, but increased the volume of images that Ruth used to make collages, photo books, calendars, and posters. She truly documented the family’s events, and her diligence will be missed! Entertaining was a close second to photography, and it was always an experience to eat a meal or dessert that Ruth had prepared. The grandchildren, in particular, were graced with the abundance of cookies that she never failed to provide, whether locally or remotely to college dorms and residences.Ruth’s greatest desire was to live her life in such a way that her life would model her faith and reflect her belief in Jesus as her Lord and Savior. She often cited the words of the musician Steve Green as her heart’s desire:Oh may all who come behind us find us faithful May the fire of our devotion light their way May the footprints that we leave, lead them to believe And the lives we live inspire them to obeyWe’re pilgrims on the journey of the narrow road And those who’ve gone before us line the way Cheering on the faithful, encouraging the weary Their lives a stirring testament to God’s sustaining grace Surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses Let us run the race not only for the prizeBut as those who’ve gone before us, let us leave to those behind us The heritage of faithfulness passed on through godly lives Oh may all who come behind us find us faithful After all our hopes and dreams have come and gone And our children sift through all we’ve left behind May the clues that they discover and the memories they uncover Become the light that leads them to the road we each must find Oh may all who come behind us find us faithful Ruth is survived by her husband Don; daughter Linda (Steve) Engdahl of Oakdale, Minnesota and sons Don and David of El Granada, California, and daughter-in-law Wendy Brown of Montara, CA; brother John Hilderbrand of Terre Haute, Indiana; 10 grandchildren, Amy Cryer (Tim), Minneapolis, MN, David Engdahl, Buena Vista, CO, Emily Engdahl, St. Louis Park, MN, Ethan Batstone (Laura), El Granada, CA, Andrew Batstone (Tania), Los Angeles, CA, Graham Batstone, Los Angeles, CA Jade Batstone, San Francisco, CA, Zak Batstone, Jesse Batstone, and Caelin Batstone, Montara, CA; three great-grandchildren, Carson and Grace Cryer, and Sadie Batstone; and many treasured brother and sister-in laws, nieces, nephews and extended family members.A Memorial Service honoring Ruth’s life will be held Thursday, May 22, 2014 at 3:00 pm at Skylawn Memorial Park, Highway 92 and Skyline Boulevard, San Mateo, California. If you so choose, memorial donations may be made in Ruth’s honor to Not for Sale. Ruth was committed to this anti-human trafficking non-profit’s mission “to create a world where no one is for sale”. Please make checks payable to Not for Sale.
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