The Healing Journey

July 13, 2025

The following obituary of Richard A. “Dick” Ruth, who died at 100, was circulated nationwide because it captured the heart of a man of faith who believed in life after death and who also recognized that God loved him infinitely, flaws and all. He himself acknowledged those flaws in this obituary, which he wrote.

Richard A. “Dick,” 100, Geistown, PA, croaked on August 20, 2024. Dick’s soul did not go shooting straight up to Heaven like everybody else’s does, but made a detour to Purgatory, where he will remain until he is purified enough to stand before his all-perfect maker.

He was born June 13, 1924, on the feast day of St. Anthony, to whom he had a life-long devotion because of the many favors he received through his intercession. He was born to Leo and Florence (Karr) Ruth. Preceded in death by great-great-grandparents; parents; wife, Dorothy (Kokoruda), brothers, Bob, Bill and John and sisters, Mary Dolores Vaught and Barbara Ann Boxler and her husband, James. Survived by brother, Paul and numerous nieces and nephews.

He had the unique distinction of marrying for the first time on his 65th birthday. (Search the Guinness Book of Records to top that one.) Dick had a lot of self-respect after he realized his wife Dorothy waited 50 years for that perfect man to come along and she settled for him.

He failed miserably in his youthful dream to fill his uncle Babe Ruth’s baseball shoes. He was the proud eccentric life-long driver for 44 years of old, big used cars until he finally broke down and bought a new one. Well known for his German thriftiness (or if you wish, his Teutonic miserliness). Not for the money he hoarded, but for the things he saved. Actually, Dick was one of the few Catholics who tithed, and in later years, sometimes he double tithed. Benevolent grower of tulips and daffodils. Dick, who was influenced by the well-kept graves he saw in the cemeteries of Germany, worked hard through the years to keep the graves of his beloved dead, well adorned with tulips in the spring, and summer flowers throughout the rest of the growing season.

He hated violence and sex on TV, hence, he watched little or no TV. Ace trouble shooter and number one pneumatical engineer for the former GTE Telephone Company. Self-appointed and self-acclaimed defender of the faith. Faithful, active member of the Cursillo movement since 1976. Auxiliary member of the Legion of Mary. Strong opponent of abortion and pornography. Ardent crusader against cigarette smoking. (He was quick to point out that he outlived many of his smoking contemporaries.) He was a frequent contributor to the “Readers Forum” of the Tribune-Democrat and “Letters to the Editor” of the Catholic Register. Co-founder and faithful member of St. Benedict’s Pro-Life prayer group since 1979. Inactive, card-carrying member of the Knights of Columbus, like so many of his brother Knights. Feeble evangelizer of Jesus Christ. Faithful member of the St. Benedict Choir from 1959 until 1995 when he got too old to “cut the mustard.” He rated himself among the top 20 singers in the St. Benedict Parish, a view shared by almost no one. Well known for his heart-felt rendition of “Danny Boy” which he plans to sing at his own funeral, in spite of the fact that his voice has deteriorated.

Dick was survived by neither a cat nor a dog. However, he was survived by a colony of squirrels and also by chipmunks who saw fit to claim his premises as their domain. Dick and Dorothy had no children and surprisingly enough, no grandchildren. But they had this consolation: None of their children or grandchildren are going to hell! Not everyone can say this with such certainty. Dick was an eccentric, counter-cultural person. He had no interest in what the culture was interested in. His main interests were Jesus Christ and the Catholic Church (in spite of its many shortcomings), and the scriptures. He also had a great love for poetry and the psalms. It would take him over an hour to recite the poems and psalms he had memorized. As stated by Dick, “To those who view my mortal remains, know thee this: I really was not this handsome while alive. It just goes to show you that Bill Harris and his staff know how to make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear.”

This obituary was crafted and written by Dick himself over the last 25 years. He proudly wrote it and revised it over the years so that it stated exactly what he wanted it to say…. In lieu of flowers, Dick requests that all his smoking friends (few though they may be) stop smoking for one day in his memory.

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