Thursday, April 25, 2024
Ruth Hake Brinkley was born on May 6, 1933, to Luther Calvin and Rachel Ruth (Hixson) Hake in Greensburg, Pennsylvania. She graduated from Greensburg High School and attended Seton Hill College. She met the love of her life, Charles Blane Brinkley Jr., while he was a cadet at West Point Military Academy.
They began dating after his graduation in 1956 and were married in 1960. They then lived and traveled throughout the United States and Europe. Ruth excelled in her career as an officer's wife and mother to their two sons.
The family settled in Lake Oswego, Oregon, after Blane Jr.'s retirement from the Army in 1975. The couple moved to Mukilteo in 1995 to be closer to their children and grandchildren.
In her later years, she enjoyed cooking and visiting with her family, pinochle, trips to the casino, feeding the backyard birds, watching her backyard water view, and the company of too many dear friends and neighbors to list.
She is survived by her sons, Charles Blane III (Deanna) Brinkley and Samuel (Gloria) Brinkley, as well as six grandchildren: Charles Blane IV and Alexander Brinkley, Nicholas and Benjamin Brinkley, and Alex and Brian Hensley. She was preceded in death by her husband and parents, as well as her siblings: George, Glenn, Calvin, Harvey, Florence, James, and Frances.
Ruth gave all her love to everyone in her circle. She will be dearly missed, but we take comfort in knowing she is happily keeping the promise she made to her husband from the following Scripture:
"And Ruth said, Intreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God. Where thou diest, will I die and there will I be buried ..." (Ruth 1:16, 17).
