Ruth Healy

Ruth Healy was a loving wife, mother, grandmother and great grandmother. She was a dedicated Christian who was a founding member of the Parkside Alliance Church. She lived out her faith through her daily living, as well as being active in the Muskegon Rescue Mission. Born on May 3, 1925 in Hart, Michigan to Donald and Rosebud (Crothers) Corlis, Ruth was the third of four children. Donald and Rosebud worked hard to raise Ruth along with her siblings: Olive, Lodema and Phyllis. Ruth learned at a young age the importance of hard work and responsibility. These were the lessons learned by the Greatest Generation, living through the Depression and World War II years that followed. Ruth enjoyed a typical childhood, playing with her friends and attending school. After her schooling, Ruth found employment as an executive secretary, first at Continental Motors and later at Brunswick. While she was a dedicated worker, Ruth did find time to go out and have fun with her friends. One fateful day she met a handsome young man named Merle Healy. After a time of dating, the two fell in love and were married on November 9, 1946. The young couple started their married life in Muskegon, Michigan, later moving to Muskegon Heights. Over the years Ruth and Merle brought four beautiful children into the world: Carol, Merle Jr. or Butch, as he was called, Barbara and Michael. While Merle worked at Lakey Foundry to support the family, Ruth stayed home to care for the children and run the household. Ruth was an exceptional mother, caring for the childrens daily needs as well as instructing and molding their character. Feeling strongly about sending her children to Christian schools, Ruth worked for several years at Marys restaurant to help pay for the childrens tuition. The family took many memorable vacations to John Gurney and Silver Lake State Park. While Merle and the kids loved camping, Ruth did not; although she was a good sport, going along to please her family. Other vacations were trips up north to visit Merles relatives, consisting of thirty-five cousins! From these trips, Ruth earned the nickname Rain Maker, because of her habit of poking her head out of the car window to predict rain. When the rain usually came soon after, the children were convinced their mom had a way of making things happen! Not only was Ruth busy taking care of her family, she was also very involved in church. Ruth and Merle were founding members of the Parkside Alliance Church (Merle even helped build it), while Ruth was involved in volunteer work. Ruth not only used her talents for teaching Sunday School, she also belonged to the Ladies auxiliary and became active in the Muskegon Rescue Mission for many years. Ruth enjoyed making holidays, especially Christmas, memorable for the entire family. Since they had no fireplace, Ruth suggested the children hang their stockings on the back of the couch! The childrens grandpa brought a hand-cut Christmas tree every year to the back door, along with a bushel of delicious apples from his fruit farm. (Later, Carol knew when she got a phone call from dad on Christmas Eve asking, Hows daddys little girl? she would be asked to help find a present for mom!) Though Ruth never learned to drive, that didnt stop her from getting around. She would walk to the nearby Plumbs store for groceries, even taking their cart back home for her next shopping trip. She would time the shopping for when Merle came home from work, so she could have help with the groceries! Merle, and later the children, were happy to take Ruth wherever she needed to go, if she didnt want to walk or take the bus. Later on, when Ruth became a grandma, she reveled in this new role just as she had in the role of motherhood. She was a hands on grandma, helping out in whatever way she was needed the most. When the grandchildren were very little and would visit Grandma at Mary's Resturant, they were in awe that she gave them free water! (This soon became an inside family joke). While the grandchildren loved their Grandma and Grandpa, they were leery of spending the night at their house because of the scary monsters that lived in the attic. Ruths grandchildren knew that Grandma Ruth loved them dearly and the feeling was definitely mutual. Ruth was a Christian lady who lived her faith in her daily devotion to her family and her church. She was a loving, considerate person who always took others feelings into consideration. She will be missed by all who were blessed to know and love her in her long and fruitful life. Mrs. Ruth A. Healy, age 83, died Wednesday, April 15, 2009. SURVIVORS Sons, Merle "Butch" (Patti) Healy of Muskegon, Michael (Christyl) Healy of MT; daughters, Carol (Gordon) Fethke of Muskegon, Barbara (Robert) Morrall of Muskegon; 9 grandchildren; 15 great grandchildren. SERVICE Saturday, April 18, 2009, 5:00 PM at Clock Chapel with Rev. Rollo Royle officiating. Interment at Hart Cemetery. VISITATION Friday, 4-7 PM at Clock Life Story Funeral Home - Muskegon. MEMORIAL: Muskegon Rescue Mission. Please visit www.lifestorynet.com to leave a memory or sign the online guest book. Clock Life Story- Muskegon