Ruth is the daughter of William Edward Hagenmaster and Ida Ann (Pumphrey) Hagenmaster. Wife of Forrest Dewey McMillan.
OBITUARY:
Ruth Jane Hagenmaster McMillan was released from her earthly bonds on July 11, 2003, at the age of 105 years and 10 months. In January of 2000, Ruth met the turn of the century for a second time, bringing with her a past rich with memories of change. She came into this world on August 21, 1897 in Morganville, Kansas, the youngest of Ida and Edward Hagenmaster's five children. The family moved to Stafford 99 years ago, when Ruth was a small girl. Her father managed the flour mill, and her mother was called upon often to help deliver babies. She grew up in a setting where no one locked their doors, the Bible was in the schoolhouse and the family's evening entertainment was often a wagon ride to the area west of Stafford where they could admire the beauty of the sunset over the Kansas plains. Her eyes still shone decades later when she recalled her childhood as the adored baby of the family, safe and precious, and her lifelong love of beautiful sunsets.
Her experiences were the stuff of history books. Just imagine, two world wars and the Great Depression. In 1903 Orville and Wilbur Wright took flight at Kitty Hawk. Albert Einstein's Theory of Relativity was first published in 1905. Ruth lived through Gibson Girls, flappers, hippies, and the Me Generation all in one lifetime. Not to mention the wonders of radio, the automobile, space flight, hemlines that varied from too short to too long with each season, and ever-shifting trends of what is proper and what is shocking. But as far as Ruth was concerned, what sustained her was there from the very beginning....."We had faith in our Lord and in our family, and we had liberty." she said, "And we always had enough to eat."
Ten and a half decades of living had distilled into a few simple values: to be honest and to treat others fairly. Ruth did all of that and more, as she taught generations of Stafford children to read, write, do arithmetic and live by the Golden Rule. Her teaching career started in 1918 at the tender age of 20, following two years of college at Emporia State Teachers College, where she was a member of Tri Sigma sorority. She continued her education during her long career by attending college whenever possible. She and her teaching colleagues, all of whom were dear freinds, drove to Sterling for several years attending evening classes toward their degrees. Mother completed her Bachelors Degree at Sterling College in 1960, while in her sixties, and many years before her retirement from the Stafford Schools.
Ruth married Forrest Dewey McMillan on May 29, 1920 in Wichita, Kansas. Hard work and hard times were the intermittent companions of the young couple, he at farming and she with her teaching. But oh, how they loved to dance in those early years! After sixteen years of marriage they were blessed first with one daughter, JoAn, and then another, Jeanne. The family lived on the farm four miles southwest of Stafford until Dewey's death in 1954.
Ruth brought in motherhood the same loving guidance that had graced her growing up years with her own mother. Years later when she became a grandmother, she persisted with the same attention to guidance. Her grandchildren were occasionally the recipients of letters kindly suggesting that they mend their ways and avoid that slipperly slope to sin.
For her family, Ruth defined true North. Her two daughters, JoAn Borland, who lives in Downingtown, PA and Jeanne Slade, of Morrison, CO, her two sons-in-law, Robert Borland and LeClair Slade, her seven loving grandchildren, Ken Borland, New York City, Joel Slade, Charlotte, NC, Carin Borland Talucci, Downingtown, PA, Laurie Slade, Lakewood, CO, Anne Borland of Eugene, OR, Gregg Slade of Santa Rosa, CA and Bill Borland, Jamison, PA all derive a sense of unity and family from the memories they share of their grandmother and of Stafford. She is also survived by her great grandchildren Trisha and Shawn Talucci, Ian Blanchard, Margaux Slade, and Emily and Allison Slade. Ruth had two beloved granddaughters-in-law Alicia Richardson Borland and Susan LeRoy Slade, and her grandson-in-law, Vince Talucci. Her nephews Raymond Hagenmaster of Grand Island, NE and Richard Sandifer of Beverly Hills, CA also survive her. Her grandson, Christopher Borland and her nephew James Sandifer preceded her in death.
Ruth had survived her husband, her mother, father, two brothers, Ray and Del Hagenmaster, and her two sisters, Marie Sandifer and Gladys Harrison. She mourned the loss of their presence in her life more than words could express, and in the past few years she wanted nothing more than to join them in the Heaven that awaited her. We will miss her in our lives, though her spirit lives on in us. We are reminded of Shelley's tribute to Keats: "Peace, peace! He is not dead, he doth not sleep./ He hath awken'd from the dream of life." Rest well, Mother. We will see you again soon.
The Stafford Courier,
Wednesday, July 16, 2003, Page Four
OBITUARY:
Ruth Jane Hagenmaster McMillan was released from her earthly bonds on July 11, 2003, at the age of 105 years and 10 months. In January of 2000, Ruth met the turn of the century for a second time, bringing with her a past rich with memories of change. She came into this world on August 21, 1897 in Morganville, Kansas, the youngest of Ida and Edward Hagenmaster's five children. The family moved to Stafford 99 years ago, when Ruth was a small girl. Her father managed the flour mill, and her mother was called upon often to help deliver babies. She grew up in a setting where no one locked their doors, the Bible was in the schoolhouse and the family's evening entertainment was often a wagon ride to the area west of Stafford where they could admire the beauty of the sunset over the Kansas plains. Her eyes still shone decades later when she recalled her childhood as the adored baby of the family, safe and precious, and her lifelong love of beautiful sunsets.
Her experiences were the stuff of history books. Just imagine, two world wars and the Great Depression. In 1903 Orville and Wilbur Wright took flight at Kitty Hawk. Albert Einstein's Theory of Relativity was first published in 1905. Ruth lived through Gibson Girls, flappers, hippies, and the Me Generation all in one lifetime. Not to mention the wonders of radio, the automobile, space flight, hemlines that varied from too short to too long with each season, and ever-shifting trends of what is proper and what is shocking. But as far as Ruth was concerned, what sustained her was there from the very beginning....."We had faith in our Lord and in our family, and we had liberty." she said, "And we always had enough to eat."
Ten and a half decades of living had distilled into a few simple values: to be honest and to treat others fairly. Ruth did all of that and more, as she taught generations of Stafford children to read, write, do arithmetic and live by the Golden Rule. Her teaching career started in 1918 at the tender age of 20, following two years of college at Emporia State Teachers College, where she was a member of Tri Sigma sorority. She continued her education during her long career by attending college whenever possible. She and her teaching colleagues, all of whom were dear freinds, drove to Sterling for several years attending evening classes toward their degrees. Mother completed her Bachelors Degree at Sterling College in 1960, while in her sixties, and many years before her retirement from the Stafford Schools.
Ruth married Forrest Dewey McMillan on May 29, 1920 in Wichita, Kansas. Hard work and hard times were the intermittent companions of the young couple, he at farming and she with her teaching. But oh, how they loved to dance in those early years! After sixteen years of marriage they were blessed first with one daughter, JoAn, and then another, Jeanne. The family lived on the farm four miles southwest of Stafford until Dewey's death in 1954.
Ruth brought in motherhood the same loving guidance that had graced her growing up years with her own mother. Years later when she became a grandmother, she persisted with the same attention to guidance. Her grandchildren were occasionally the recipients of letters kindly suggesting that they mend their ways and avoid that slipperly slope to sin.
For her family, Ruth defined true North. Her two daughters, JoAn Borland, who lives in Downingtown, PA and Jeanne Slade, of Morrison, CO, her two sons-in-law, Robert Borland and LeClair Slade, her seven loving grandchildren, Ken Borland, New York City, Joel Slade, Charlotte, NC, Carin Borland Talucci, Downingtown, PA, Laurie Slade, Lakewood, CO, Anne Borland of Eugene, OR, Gregg Slade of Santa Rosa, CA and Bill Borland, Jamison, PA all derive a sense of unity and family from the memories they share of their grandmother and of Stafford. She is also survived by her great grandchildren Trisha and Shawn Talucci, Ian Blanchard, Margaux Slade, and Emily and Allison Slade. Ruth had two beloved granddaughters-in-law Alicia Richardson Borland and Susan LeRoy Slade, and her grandson-in-law, Vince Talucci. Her nephews Raymond Hagenmaster of Grand Island, NE and Richard Sandifer of Beverly Hills, CA also survive her. Her grandson, Christopher Borland and her nephew James Sandifer preceded her in death.
Ruth had survived her husband, her mother, father, two brothers, Ray and Del Hagenmaster, and her two sisters, Marie Sandifer and Gladys Harrison. She mourned the loss of their presence in her life more than words could express, and in the past few years she wanted nothing more than to join them in the Heaven that awaited her. We will miss her in our lives, though her spirit lives on in us. We are reminded of Shelley's tribute to Keats: "Peace, peace! He is not dead, he doth not sleep./ He hath awken'd from the dream of life." Rest well, Mother. We will see you again soon.
The Stafford Courier,
Wednesday, July 16, 2003, Page Four
Ruth is the daughter of William Edward Hagenmaster and Ida Ann (Pumphrey) Hagenmaster. Wife of Forrest Dewey McMillan.
OBITUARY:
Ruth Jane Hagenmaster McMillan was released from her earthly bonds on July 11, 2003, at the age of 105 years and 10 months. In January of 2000, Ruth met the turn of the century for a second time, bringing with her a past rich with memories of change. She came into this world on August 21, 1897 in Morganville, Kansas, the youngest of Ida and Edward Hagenmaster's five children. The family moved to Stafford 99 years ago, when Ruth was a small girl. Her father managed the flour mill, and her mother was called upon often to help deliver babies. She grew up in a setting where no one locked their doors, the Bible was in the schoolhouse and the family's evening entertainment was often a wagon ride to the area west of Stafford where they could admire the beauty of the sunset over the Kansas plains. Her eyes still shone decades later when she recalled her childhood as the adored baby of the family, safe and precious, and her lifelong love of beautiful sunsets.
Her experiences were the stuff of history books. Just imagine, two world wars and the Great Depression. In 1903 Orville and Wilbur Wright took flight at Kitty Hawk. Albert Einstein's Theory of Relativity was first published in 1905. Ruth lived through Gibson Girls, flappers, hippies, and the Me Generation all in one lifetime. Not to mention the wonders of radio, the automobile, space flight, hemlines that varied from too short to too long with each season, and ever-shifting trends of what is proper and what is shocking. But as far as Ruth was concerned, what sustained her was there from the very beginning....."We had faith in our Lord and in our family, and we had liberty." she said, "And we always had enough to eat."
Ten and a half decades of living had distilled into a few simple values: to be honest and to treat others fairly. Ruth did all of that and more, as she taught generations of Stafford children to read, write, do arithmetic and live by the Golden Rule. Her teaching career started in 1918 at the tender age of 20, following two years of college at Emporia State Teachers College, where she was a member of Tri Sigma sorority. She continued her education during her long career by attending college whenever possible. She and her teaching colleagues, all of whom were dear freinds, drove to Sterling for several years attending evening classes toward their degrees. Mother completed her Bachelors Degree at Sterling College in 1960, while in her sixties, and many years before her retirement from the Stafford Schools.
Ruth married Forrest Dewey McMillan on May 29, 1920 in Wichita, Kansas. Hard work and hard times were the intermittent companions of the young couple, he at farming and she with her teaching. But oh, how they loved to dance in those early years! After sixteen years of marriage they were blessed first with one daughter, JoAn, and then another, Jeanne. The family lived on the farm four miles southwest of Stafford until Dewey's death in 1954.
Ruth brought in motherhood the same loving guidance that had graced her growing up years with her own mother. Years later when she became a grandmother, she persisted with the same attention to guidance. Her grandchildren were occasionally the recipients of letters kindly suggesting that they mend their ways and avoid that slipperly slope to sin.
For her family, Ruth defined true North. Her two daughters, JoAn Borland, who lives in Downingtown, PA and Jeanne Slade, of Morrison, CO, her two sons-in-law, Robert Borland and LeClair Slade, her seven loving grandchildren, Ken Borland, New York City, Joel Slade, Charlotte, NC, Carin Borland Talucci, Downingtown, PA, Laurie Slade, Lakewood, CO, Anne Borland of Eugene, OR, Gregg Slade of Santa Rosa, CA and Bill Borland, Jamison, PA all derive a sense of unity and family from the memories they share of their grandmother and of Stafford. She is also survived by her great grandchildren Trisha and Shawn Talucci, Ian Blanchard, Margaux Slade, and Emily and Allison Slade. Ruth had two beloved granddaughters-in-law Alicia Richardson Borland and Susan LeRoy Slade, and her grandson-in-law, Vince Talucci. Her nephews Raymond Hagenmaster of Grand Island, NE and Richard Sandifer of Beverly Hills, CA also survive her. Her grandson, Christopher Borland and her nephew James Sandifer preceded her in death.
Ruth had survived her husband, her mother, father, two brothers, Ray and Del Hagenmaster, and her two sisters, Marie Sandifer and Gladys Harrison. She mourned the loss of their presence in her life more than words could express, and in the past few years she wanted nothing more than to join them in the Heaven that awaited her. We will miss her in our lives, though her spirit lives on in us. We are reminded of Shelley's tribute to Keats: "Peace, peace! He is not dead, he doth not sleep./ He hath awken'd from the dream of life." Rest well, Mother. We will see you again soon.
The Stafford Courier,
Wednesday, July 16, 2003, Page Four
OBITUARY:
Ruth Jane Hagenmaster McMillan was released from her earthly bonds on July 11, 2003, at the age of 105 years and 10 months. In January of 2000, Ruth met the turn of the century for a second time, bringing with her a past rich with memories of change. She came into this world on August 21, 1897 in Morganville, Kansas, the youngest of Ida and Edward Hagenmaster's five children. The family moved to Stafford 99 years ago, when Ruth was a small girl. Her father managed the flour mill, and her mother was called upon often to help deliver babies. She grew up in a setting where no one locked their doors, the Bible was in the schoolhouse and the family's evening entertainment was often a wagon ride to the area west of Stafford where they could admire the beauty of the sunset over the Kansas plains. Her eyes still shone decades later when she recalled her childhood as the adored baby of the family, safe and precious, and her lifelong love of beautiful sunsets.
Her experiences were the stuff of history books. Just imagine, two world wars and the Great Depression. In 1903 Orville and Wilbur Wright took flight at Kitty Hawk. Albert Einstein's Theory of Relativity was first published in 1905. Ruth lived through Gibson Girls, flappers, hippies, and the Me Generation all in one lifetime. Not to mention the wonders of radio, the automobile, space flight, hemlines that varied from too short to too long with each season, and ever-shifting trends of what is proper and what is shocking. But as far as Ruth was concerned, what sustained her was there from the very beginning....."We had faith in our Lord and in our family, and we had liberty." she said, "And we always had enough to eat."
Ten and a half decades of living had distilled into a few simple values: to be honest and to treat others fairly. Ruth did all of that and more, as she taught generations of Stafford children to read, write, do arithmetic and live by the Golden Rule. Her teaching career started in 1918 at the tender age of 20, following two years of college at Emporia State Teachers College, where she was a member of Tri Sigma sorority. She continued her education during her long career by attending college whenever possible. She and her teaching colleagues, all of whom were dear freinds, drove to Sterling for several years attending evening classes toward their degrees. Mother completed her Bachelors Degree at Sterling College in 1960, while in her sixties, and many years before her retirement from the Stafford Schools.
Ruth married Forrest Dewey McMillan on May 29, 1920 in Wichita, Kansas. Hard work and hard times were the intermittent companions of the young couple, he at farming and she with her teaching. But oh, how they loved to dance in those early years! After sixteen years of marriage they were blessed first with one daughter, JoAn, and then another, Jeanne. The family lived on the farm four miles southwest of Stafford until Dewey's death in 1954.
Ruth brought in motherhood the same loving guidance that had graced her growing up years with her own mother. Years later when she became a grandmother, she persisted with the same attention to guidance. Her grandchildren were occasionally the recipients of letters kindly suggesting that they mend their ways and avoid that slipperly slope to sin.
For her family, Ruth defined true North. Her two daughters, JoAn Borland, who lives in Downingtown, PA and Jeanne Slade, of Morrison, CO, her two sons-in-law, Robert Borland and LeClair Slade, her seven loving grandchildren, Ken Borland, New York City, Joel Slade, Charlotte, NC, Carin Borland Talucci, Downingtown, PA, Laurie Slade, Lakewood, CO, Anne Borland of Eugene, OR, Gregg Slade of Santa Rosa, CA and Bill Borland, Jamison, PA all derive a sense of unity and family from the memories they share of their grandmother and of Stafford. She is also survived by her great grandchildren Trisha and Shawn Talucci, Ian Blanchard, Margaux Slade, and Emily and Allison Slade. Ruth had two beloved granddaughters-in-law Alicia Richardson Borland and Susan LeRoy Slade, and her grandson-in-law, Vince Talucci. Her nephews Raymond Hagenmaster of Grand Island, NE and Richard Sandifer of Beverly Hills, CA also survive her. Her grandson, Christopher Borland and her nephew James Sandifer preceded her in death.
Ruth had survived her husband, her mother, father, two brothers, Ray and Del Hagenmaster, and her two sisters, Marie Sandifer and Gladys Harrison. She mourned the loss of their presence in her life more than words could express, and in the past few years she wanted nothing more than to join them in the Heaven that awaited her. We will miss her in our lives, though her spirit lives on in us. We are reminded of Shelley's tribute to Keats: "Peace, peace! He is not dead, he doth not sleep./ He hath awken'd from the dream of life." Rest well, Mother. We will see you again soon.
The Stafford Courier,
Wednesday, July 16, 2003, Page Four
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