Notifications

No notifications
We will send an invite after you submit!
  • Helping hands

    In lieu of flowers

    Please consider a donation to Ruthnans Clothing Closet for Homeless Teens.
  • Help keep everyone in the know by sharing this memorial website.

Memories & condolences

Year (Optional)
Location (Optional)
Caption
YouTube/Facebook/Vimeo Link
Caption
Who is in this photo?
Or start with a template for inspiration
Cancel
By posting this memory, you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Notice.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Ruthnan with forever be in my heart . I lived the last 20 years in Las Vegas with her and her husband lee. Changed my life in every way . Very much miss and never forgotten ❤️🥺
Helping hands

In lieu of flowers

Please consider a donation to Ruthnans Clothing Closet for Homeless Teens.
$272.00
of $3,000 goal
9 %
Kimberly Moon
2019, North Las Vegas, NV, USA
Oh my heart aches that you are no longer here to tell your exciting stories. I am at peace knowing you are no longer in pain. Laying in that bed in NLV was something you did not deserve. What an amazing woman you are. I know you are here in spirit, I look forward to seeing you in a different realm. I love you.
Ruthnan Bigelow was one of the most remarkable and courageous people I have ever known. In her later years, even though she was going blind and was physically incapacitated, she never lost her sense of humor, her curiosity, and her willingness to help other people. To the end, she was cheerful, upbeat, and positive.

Ruthnan was a very close friend of my late wife, the Rev. Gretchen Stamos. She and Gretchen were members of PEO, a women's philanthropic and educational organization, for many years. Ruthnan was also a faithful servant of God, having served as a deacon for many years.

Ruthnan loved helping people. Even though she had little herself, she always managed to find ways to help people in a bad spot. She managed several rental properties around town and I remember going with her on many occasions to pick up rent or check on the welfare of tenants.

Now, this was a time when Ruthnan could still drive, but her eyesight was failing due to glaucoma. I would ride with her in her Chevy van. I used to laugh and call her method of driving the "Braille" method because she would use the raised "Botts Dots" on the roadway to alert her to when she was drifting into the next lane. We would be driving along and I'd hear the "bump, bump, bump, bump" as she drifted from one side of the lane to the other. Through the grace of God, we always arrived safely, but as her vision deteriorated, I wound up driving her to her appointments.

After Ruthnan's beloved Lee passed away, we helped move her into a small, one-bedroom condo near the UNLV campus. We would visit her frequently. She managed to get around the cramped apartment in her wheelchair but spent much of her time in her motorized recliner. By this time, she was virtually blind. She sat in the recliner and "watched" (or rather listened to) TV. She loved the old TV programs, newscasts, and especially the Lawrence Welk Show. Because her hearing was going bad as well, the TV was turned up pretty loud.

I always marveled at Ruthnan's indomitable and independent spirit. Despite her failing health, she always had a project or special cause that she would enthusiastically talk about. Since she couldn't see, we rigged up her flip cellphone with raised stickers on certain numbers so she could "feel" which numbers to push. Her phone connected her to the world and she used it to benefit many people with her wisdom, love, and charity.

To say that Ruthnan's life was remarkable is truly an understatement. She was undoubtedly one of the most intelligent and quick-witted people I've ever known. She loved hearing from former students who still corresponded with her; telling her how much her teaching had enriched their lives.

She was an astute businesswoman, a teacher, philanthropist, and a loving soul with a heart of gold. In other words, Ruthnan Bigelow as as original and authentic as they get. I was honored and privileged to have been a part of her life and I will always miss her deeply.

What gives me solace is that she is rejoicing with the angels and our Saviour in Heaven along with my beloved wife, Gretchen. I'm sure they are once again enjoying each other's company as they did for so many years here on Earth.

Goodbye, Ruthnan. May you rest in God's embrace for eternity.

George Stamos
Comments:
  • Please make sure you've written a comment before it can be published. If you prefer to remove your comment, you can delete it.
  • Sorry, we had some trouble updating your comment.
Aunty, the world has lost a wonderful woman, but Heaven gained so much more. Love Barbara
Ruthnan and the family
1979, Rhode Island, USA
Ruthnan and the family
Comments:
  • Please make sure you've written a comment before it can be published. If you prefer to remove your comment, you can delete it.
  • Sorry, we had some trouble updating your comment.
Ruthnan was my 10th grade biology teacher at Morningside High School in Inglewood, Ca. in 1956. She inspired me through her enthusiasm for science and human interaction to become a biology teacher myself for 31 years.
I have kept in contact with her and her life for all of these last 64 years visiting her periodically in her long time hometown of Las Vegas. She always had an enduring determination for whatever she was involved with from teaching to a real estate career to even repossessing cars for an insurance company and following one "client" to Europe to repossess the car....successfully!
She was interesting to be around and interested in those she was around.
A wonderful person, truly missed.
Hal Brown

Want to see more?

Get notified when new photos, stories and other important updates are shared.

Get grief support

Connect with others in a formal or informal capacity.

Recent contributions

$25.00
Bill and Amanda W
$25.00
Paul Ashness
$22.00
Barbara Bigelow
See all contributionsRight arrow
×

Stay in the loop

Ruthnan Bigelow