Ruth Ellen Maltby, 98,
of Burlington, formerly of Elkhorn and Elmhurst, Ill, passed away on Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2021 at Aurora Memorial Hospital of Burlington with much love from her family.
Ruth was born Dec. 6, 1922 in Oak Park, Ill., to the late Robert and Ruth (Burgess) Nickelson. It was while attending Austin High School in Chicago when Ruth met her soulmate. She was united in marriage to her high school sweetheart, her one and only love, John J. Maltby on March 9, 1946 in Elmhurst. After 71 years of marriage, John preceded her in death on May 25, 2017.
Ruth is survived by her three children, Ellen Douglas of Canada, John (Linda) Maltby of Burlington and Janis (Jerry) Henning of Minn.; grandchildren, Ted (Sharri) Douglas, Sean (Cindi Koetz) Maltby, Mary (Brent) Kahara, Brandi (Steve) Henning, Ruth (Joe) Dawidziak and Adam (Sara) Maltby; 18 great-grandchildren, and four great-great-grandchildren….and a ridiculous amount of stuffed bears, knick knacks, dragon swag and Malt-Bees.
Ruth was known to many as “The Dragon”. Even though she was fun sized at 5’2” she had fiery red hair, piercing blue eyes, and a personality five times her stature. She put her heart into everything she did from being a phone operator during the war, volunteering at the YMCA and church, becoming a mother, all the way to her favorite roles of grandmother, great and great-great grandmother. She truly cherished her time with each and every single one of them.
Ruth was fierce. If you told her no, she heard go for it. She loved a little mischief and a great martini. A cutthroat game of Bridge or Cribbage made her happy, mainly because she was usually winning. She enjoyed traveling and had a passion for genealogy long before Ancestry.com was cool. Her wicked sense of humor and expert poker face made conversations with her coveted. When she laughed, she laughed with her heart, her eyes twinkled and it was infectious. There was no putting anything past her either, she would hone in on you and simply say, “bull feathers”. She called a spade a spade and was loved for it.
Ruth died like she lived … on her own terms. Once she made up her mind to go to John, they were reunited in mere days.
The family would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to Dana, who was so much more than a caregiver, she became a special friend to Ruth. Thank you to her many neighbors who helped her, looked after her and kept her company, especially through the pandemic. Thank you also to the Hospice staff at Burlington Memorial who provided compassion, dignity and comfort in her final days.
A Celebration of Life will be held at a later date yet to be determined. You can honor Ruth’s memory by finding some mischief, making others smile and raising a toast to life with your favorite Martini.
Online guest book at www.haaselockwoodfhs.com.
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