Elaine Alice Ruth

Elaine Alice McKinley Ruth Elaine Ruth, age 72, Of Boring, Oregon, passed away on Friday, April 28, 2023, at home. Elaine Alice McKinley, the only daughter of Clarence Clayton and Sarah Alice McKinley was born on July 15, 1950, in Ada, Oklahoma, and passed away at Boring, Oregon on April 28, 2023, at the age of 72. Shortly after she was born, she and her brother Roger Clarence McKinley moved with her parents to May, Oklahoma where her brother Leslie Daniel was born. From there the family moved to Westcliffe, Colorado where her dad taught high school vocational agriculture and her brother David Earl was born. After 6 years at Westcliffe, the family moved to Walsh, Colorado where she completed her education, graduating from Walsh High School in 1968. After graduating, she attended Panhandle State College in Goodwell, Oklahoma where she earned a degree in education. She returned to Westcliffe to teach for a couple of years. After deciding teaching wasn’t for her, she went with her brother Roger to the Portland, Oregon area, where she had family. There she met Richard (Dick) Lee Ruth. They were married on January 22, 1982, in Reno, Nevada. They lived in several places in the Portland area over the years, but none as long as the little house in Boring, Oregon, close to Richard’s family. While there she and Richard were very active members of the Portland Gold Prospectors Club and attended church regularly. She remained there after Richard passed away in 2022. She was an aficionado of trains, stamps, art, and waterfalls! She also began sharing what she saw on her drives, usually through the Columbia River Gorge, with the weekly Ruth Family emails. She was preceded in death by her husband, Dick, her father and mother, Clarence and Sarah McKinley, her father-in-law, Frank Ruth, and her brother Roger McKinley. Left to cherish her memory are two brothers, Les (Cindy) of Parachute, Colorado and David McKinley of Lamar, Colorado; Stepdaughters, Michelle Mousel of Pullman, Washington and Martha Saddler, of Aurora, Nebraska; mother-in-law Dorothy Ruth, brother-in-law Gary (Kim) Ruth, sisters-in-law Deby (Ross) Abbott and Julie Hirning, nieces, Sarah Ryan, Sarah (Chris) Sapienza, Heather (Sheldon) Walker; nephews Clayton and Sam McKinley; nine great nieces and great nephews; and many other dear family members and friends. A Memorial Service will be held at 11:00 A.M., Sunday, May 21st at the Sandy Seventh-day Adventist Church, 18575 SE Langensand Rd, Sandy, Oregon, Pastor Diego will officiate. Inurnment will be at a later date in Colorado.

Elaine Alice Ruth

July 15, 1950 - April 29, 2023