Ruth R. Burroughs

Ruth Smith Crockford Burroughs

On Sept. 3, 2012, at 12:20 am, Ruth left to join our Heavenly Father and all of the family and friends that had passed before her; she was just two months shy of her 101st birthday. Ruth was born on Nov. 4, 1911 to Hessel (Harry) and Hannah (Ann) Zlotkovich-Smith in San Francisco, Calif.; she had five brothers and three sisters.

Because Ruth was born premature, she was deaf, but it never slowed her down. She attended the California School for the Deaf in Berkeley, Ca. She started there at 6 years old, and then went to the Gough School for the deaf in San Francisco; she was proficient in ASL and lip reading. Her husband Mansell also attended the Berkeley School for the Deaf at the same time, two years ahead of her. Somewhere down the line, they managed to meet, once more, at the San Francisco Deaf Club, dated, then married in 1933. Mansell passed away in 1970, suffering a stroke. She later married Gordon Burroughs of Santa Rosa, Calif. in June of 1973 and became a member of the LDS Church. Gordon passed away in 1980, suffering cancer.

Ruth loved to travel to the country, take trips to Portland each year, to bowl in the Rose Tournament for the Deaf. She loved to crochet, do crossword puzzles, and play canasta and bingo. Ruth spent the last years of her life at Highland Hills Assisted Living where she enjoyed making new friends, crafting and playing games. We will miss her smile and her love for everyone around her.

Ruth is survived by her two sons, Hal (Ginny) of Fort Jones, Ca. and Bob (Linda) Crockford of Pocatello, Id. Her grandchildren are: Debra Crockford of Libby, MT, Maryann (Gene) Boggs of Montrose, CO, Rebecca (Mark) Gerdes of Redmond, OR and Christina (Rick) Polston of Kapolei, Oahu, HI, Heather (Mike) Boynton of Ben Lomond, CA and Jill (JD) Francis of Kingston, WA. Ruth is also survived by her loving sister, Ida Chaban of Santa Rosa, Ca.... Ida had her 105th birthday on July 23rd. Her loving brother, Arthur, passed away in May; about two months shy of his 107th birthday. She is also survived by a total of three nieces and three nephews: Betty Franks of Santa Rosa, CA, Lenore Spitz of Amesbury, MA, Deborah McCallister of Remington, WA, Arthur (Audrey) Smith of Lompoc, CA, Leland (Ruth) Smith of Long Beach, CA and Joel (Pat) Chaban of Gualala, CA. Ruth had a total of 16 great grandchildren.

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