Ruth became a great-grandmother in February when her granddaughter, Lacey, gave birth to two beautiful twin girls. Lacey has always been a constant blessing in her life, and Ruth explains how grateful she is that she’s been able to watch her grow into such an amazing woman. When Lacy was five, Ruth would pick her up from school and spend the days teaching her how to cross stitch and do different crafts. Sadly, Ruth’s son did not live long enough to see Lacey grow up. He died when she was only 13 years old. Ruth says she was able to empathize with Lacey since her own father passed away when she was also 13.
Ruth worked very hard her entire life to live comfortably and support her family. She started working at the age of 14 at a jewelry counter and then moved on to serving ice cream. Ruth worked for only 18 cents an hour when she was young, which urged her to take a second job at a knitting mill in order to support her family. Later on, she went to nursing school but wasn’t able to finish because of her marriage—nursing schools required on-campus living. Ruth was married for 63 years and had three children, two boys and a girl. Already losing Lacey’s dad 22 years ago, her husband and other son died recently within months of each other. Ruth explains the biggest challenge of her life is the loss of both sons. “It is hard to go on after that,” she says.
As Ruth’s health started to decline, she moved back to Colorado to be close to her only daughter. She explains how thankful she is to have her daughter’s love and support during her time of need. Ruth said she realized that this might be the last time she will have the chance to meet her twin great-granddaughters. Lacey is the only grandchild that Ruth had the privilege to see grow up. She attended her wedding and still enjoys hearing about the details of her life. After the healthy delivery of her two twin baby girls, Ruth was thrilled to learn that Lacey named one of the them after her: Mackenzie Ruth. “I now know why I am still alive, and it is because of the birth of these twins. It would mean the world to me to visit Lacey and hold these new little girls!” exclaims Ruth.
On June 13th, 2016, Wish of a Lifetime sent Ruth to Florida to visit her dearly loved granddaughter and meet these two precious, great-grand twins for the first time.
Photo credits: Adrian De Los Santos
