Ruth Marion Hedlund , September 29, 1932 — November 19, 2018

Ruth Marion Hedlund, of South Haven, passed away Monday, November 19, 2018 at the Boulder Creek Assisted Living Center in Rockford, Michigan surrounded by her loving family. She was born September 29, 1932 to Edgar and Winnifred (Gooding) Miller in Swartz Creek, Michigan. Ruth married Eddie Hedlund on January 19, 1951 in Hartford, Michigan.

She said it was love at first sight when she saw him working on an apartment building. They shared 59 years of marriage before his passing in 2010. After Eddie’s death, Ruth suffered a broken heart but stayed strong because her children still needed her.

She lived independently until just one week before her passing. Ruth helped run the family business, located in their home, in the days before computers or cell phones. She enjoyed reading, baking, motorcycling and driving small aircraft around in the family’s backyard.

She was always the room mother, never forgot a birthday, drove her middle daughter to kindergarten in a one of the first mustang convertibles, allowed various pets to be brought home (there is a rumor that a pony came home in the backseat of a Cadillac), made all the meals and changed all the diapers. She endured countless cross-country motorhome road trips with screaming kids, numerous college moves, paid thousands of dollars of tuition and beat cancer twice. She went back to high school to receive a diploma after having all of her children, to set a good example about the importance of education.

She was truly a strong woman and will be dearly missed. She is preceded in death along with her parents and husband by siblings – Edgar, William, Glynn, Leland, Henry, and Thomas Miller, and Dorothy Flores and also hundreds of nieces and nephews. Ruth is survived by her children – Valerie Ridley of Bangor, Gary Ridley of Bangor (ok, he is married to Valerie but more like a son than a son-in-law.

He was at all family gatherings and separated all fights), Vicki (Fred) Reeves of New Port Richey, Florida, Carolyn of California, Arthur (Andrea) Hedlund of Rockford and Nancy (Pat) Connor of Grand Rapids, brother – Raymond (Rita) Miller of Kalamazoo (Uncle Ray and Aunt Rita are adopting all 6 of Ruth’s children), six grandchildren, and three great grandsons. Private Family Services will be held at the Fort Custer National Cemetery in Augusta, Michigan. In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to the Kindred Hospice of Grand Rapids to whom the family is grateful.

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