Obituary for Ruth Elaine Bos (Van Arkel)
Ruth Elaine Van Arkel Bos
December 28, 1937 – April 6, 2024
Our Matriarch was born December 28th 1937 and passed away on April 6th 2024.
She was born on a small farm in Mound Prairie, Iowa to proud parents, Leonard and Anna Helena Van Arkel. Christened Ruth Elaine Van Arkle, as the baby girl of the family, she would affectionately be called Ruthie.
As a typical farm of the time, the family had no electricity or indoor plumbing. They did have a water-pump, an outdoor privy, many chickens and a huge vegetable garden.
Ruthie helped with chores. No doubt, in that garden, is when the first hint of green started to tinge her thumb and she would go on to lead a lifetime of plant love.
As recently as last year she still recalled her mother butchering a chicken for dinner and how it was the least favorite of Gramma's chores. But true to the stoic nature of Dutch women and farmers’ wives, chores need to be done, so we do them. A lesson Ruth learned and passed on to her children.
Big brother Henry kept a close eye on little Ruthie as the two walked daily together to the 1 room school house a mile or so away.
At the age of 9 she moved to Pella, Iowa, a most beautiful little town founded by Dutch immigrants. In later years she would take great pride in showing off the windmills and bakeries to her new family as they vacationed there yearly. She was proud and intrigued by her Dutch heritage.
In Pella she saw a more modern world with electricity, indoor plumbing and television. She attended Pella Christian Grade School and High School, where she was a good and serious student.
When Ruth and the rest of the new freshman class arrived for their first day on the Calvin College Campus, it was a day of excitement, the start of a new chapter in their lives. Many of the fine young upstanding Christian upper class males were on hand to check out.. uh, hmmm, welcome the new girls, uh, classmates, to the campus. One girl in particular caught the eye of several of the hopefuls, but it was one William Glen Bos that stalked, uh, that is to say tracked her down and asked her out.
Ruth said yes and so began a new family story.
The happy couple were married on June 13th 1958 and moved first to Detroit Michigan where Bill completed his graduate studies in Chemistry at Wayne State and then on to Champaign Illinois where Bill attended the University of Illinois for his post-doctorate work.
Life got busy fast for Ruth and Bill as they welcomed kids one by one, Sheryl, Jim, Kris and Steve while Bill was still in school. With 4 young ones under the age of 5 and Bill busy studying, the lessons learned on the farm came in handy.
When Bill landed a teaching job at the University of Louisville, the family moved to Louisville and settled in Seneca Gardens. They found a forever home and true neighbors. There were other families, raising kids on quiet streets lined with old oak trees, a place safe for kids to run around all day. When Ruth had had enough of her gang's high energy, she booted them out the door for a run around the block to wear it off. The neighborhood mothers worked together to handle the kids and chores. They shared tips on cooking and cleaning. Someone found out they could buy produce where the grocers do, and off the ladies went to the shipping docks to hand pick boxes of the freshest fruit to be split among households. The dock workers chuckled, but happily carried the ladies' fruit crates to the cars.
There was rarely a dull moment with 4 kids. Some of those times were amusing, like finding Jim's hidden 6-foot python in the toy chest in the basement. Good thing Ruth had nerves of steel, but that was a “wait until your father gets home” moment. Others not so much, like when a friend hit Jim in the head with a shovel and he casually walked home with a bloody red t-shirt. Steve, now, he was fond of stitches, particularly around his eyes for some reason, but Ruth always kept her cool. Ruth can count her blessings for her first born, Sheryl. Without Sheryl playing second mom when needed, the circus might have won a lot more rounds.
Raising a family on a tight budget can be tough, but she had her background to lean on. When she developed a love of antiques, she learned to repair and refinish cast offs. From retying the springs of an old chair to stripping the cabinets in the kitchen, in her younger days, she never thought to hire someone. She DIYed before it had a name. While Bill was capable enough in the shop, she is the reason the kids know which end of the hammer to swing and can read a set of instructions.
Oh, those poor kids though, got to feel bad for them. How they suffered with those homemade cookies, home cooked meals and hand-sewn clothes, no store-bought stuff for them. The cruelty.....
She was always up for a new craft, a new creative challenge. When she took pottery at U of L her instructor tried to get her to go professional, even offering to build her a kiln in the backyard.
A second honeymoon took the couple to the Netherlands and Germany for an unbelievable adventure. Later Ruth would travel abroad again with her dear friend, Inger Slavin and Inger's daughter, Solveig.
June 1st 1982 brought the first grand baby, Joshua Nottingham. Over the years 4 more would follow, Laura Thomas, David Thomas, James William Bos, Nicholas Wyatt Bos and one great grandson Jackson Joshua Thomas.
In 1985, Ruth's world changed completely with the untimely death of Bill. With her children barely out of the house, she had to face a new life as an empty nester alone. She grieved privately, always the Lady, always composed publicly. In time she would find a new path for herself, expand her friendships and find new purpose.
Many of the house skills she had perfected would stand her in good stead as she made her way back into the world. She worked for a time in a test kitchen, where her attention to detail in the kitchen made her an asset. She found more success than she needed when she began sewing professionally. Her high standards brought her too much work as the dresses she turned out were stunning.
One sewing client was well known, southern cook Camille Glenn. In time they developed a friendship and Camille came to respect Ruth's attention to detail and refined palate. When Camille began work on her “Old-Fashioned Christmas Cookbook”, Ruth assisted her in testing, compiling and editing the recipes.
Ruth may have started as a quiet country girl who wouldn't dare wear pants while away at college, because her gentle father forbid her, but she became very much the modern woman in her own way. She was comfortable as a single woman living alone in a large city, but she still liked the quietness she remembered from the past and in later years chose to retreat to smaller spaces and smaller groups. In time, allergies and health concerns kept her from her beloved garden, and made the stairs of the family home challenging.
Like all in our golden years, she had earned the right to slow down and enjoy the pace of, and the flavor of, a life of her choosing. Ignoring invitations from her children, she chose to down-size to an apartment at Magnolia Springs East. Let them do the yardwork and the bulk of cooking and cleaning, she was now full on retired.
It was there Ruth spent her final years entertaining family, friends and staff with her humor and friendly chat. She continued knitting, rediscovered her love of jigsaw puzzles and discovered what every older adult learns, the joy of the anytime nap.
Today Ruth is not napping. No more. She is young, strong and free. And she is up there with the rest of our Angels laughing and reminiscing. And no doubt telling a few stories on us....
Ruth was preceded in death by her husband Bill, her grandson Joshua and her son Steve.
She is survived by her children, Sheryl, Jim and Kris, by her grandchildren, Laura, David, James William and Nickolas and her great-grandson Jackson.
A small graveside service was held with burial in Cave Hill Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests expressions of sympathy be sent to the Waterfront Botanical Gardens, PO Box 5056, Louisville, KY 40255 (waterfrontgardens.org)
December 28, 1937 – April 6, 2024
Our Matriarch was born December 28th 1937 and passed away on April 6th 2024.
She was born on a small farm in Mound Prairie, Iowa to proud parents, Leonard and Anna Helena Van Arkel. Christened Ruth Elaine Van Arkle, as the baby girl of the family, she would affectionately be called Ruthie.
As a typical farm of the time, the family had no electricity or indoor plumbing. They did have a water-pump, an outdoor privy, many chickens and a huge vegetable garden.
Ruthie helped with chores. No doubt, in that garden, is when the first hint of green started to tinge her thumb and she would go on to lead a lifetime of plant love.
As recently as last year she still recalled her mother butchering a chicken for dinner and how it was the least favorite of Gramma's chores. But true to the stoic nature of Dutch women and farmers’ wives, chores need to be done, so we do them. A lesson Ruth learned and passed on to her children.
Big brother Henry kept a close eye on little Ruthie as the two walked daily together to the 1 room school house a mile or so away.
At the age of 9 she moved to Pella, Iowa, a most beautiful little town founded by Dutch immigrants. In later years she would take great pride in showing off the windmills and bakeries to her new family as they vacationed there yearly. She was proud and intrigued by her Dutch heritage.
In Pella she saw a more modern world with electricity, indoor plumbing and television. She attended Pella Christian Grade School and High School, where she was a good and serious student.
When Ruth and the rest of the new freshman class arrived for their first day on the Calvin College Campus, it was a day of excitement, the start of a new chapter in their lives. Many of the fine young upstanding Christian upper class males were on hand to check out.. uh, hmmm, welcome the new girls, uh, classmates, to the campus. One girl in particular caught the eye of several of the hopefuls, but it was one William Glen Bos that stalked, uh, that is to say tracked her down and asked her out.
Ruth said yes and so began a new family story.
The happy couple were married on June 13th 1958 and moved first to Detroit Michigan where Bill completed his graduate studies in Chemistry at Wayne State and then on to Champaign Illinois where Bill attended the University of Illinois for his post-doctorate work.
Life got busy fast for Ruth and Bill as they welcomed kids one by one, Sheryl, Jim, Kris and Steve while Bill was still in school. With 4 young ones under the age of 5 and Bill busy studying, the lessons learned on the farm came in handy.
When Bill landed a teaching job at the University of Louisville, the family moved to Louisville and settled in Seneca Gardens. They found a forever home and true neighbors. There were other families, raising kids on quiet streets lined with old oak trees, a place safe for kids to run around all day. When Ruth had had enough of her gang's high energy, she booted them out the door for a run around the block to wear it off. The neighborhood mothers worked together to handle the kids and chores. They shared tips on cooking and cleaning. Someone found out they could buy produce where the grocers do, and off the ladies went to the shipping docks to hand pick boxes of the freshest fruit to be split among households. The dock workers chuckled, but happily carried the ladies' fruit crates to the cars.
There was rarely a dull moment with 4 kids. Some of those times were amusing, like finding Jim's hidden 6-foot python in the toy chest in the basement. Good thing Ruth had nerves of steel, but that was a “wait until your father gets home” moment. Others not so much, like when a friend hit Jim in the head with a shovel and he casually walked home with a bloody red t-shirt. Steve, now, he was fond of stitches, particularly around his eyes for some reason, but Ruth always kept her cool. Ruth can count her blessings for her first born, Sheryl. Without Sheryl playing second mom when needed, the circus might have won a lot more rounds.
Raising a family on a tight budget can be tough, but she had her background to lean on. When she developed a love of antiques, she learned to repair and refinish cast offs. From retying the springs of an old chair to stripping the cabinets in the kitchen, in her younger days, she never thought to hire someone. She DIYed before it had a name. While Bill was capable enough in the shop, she is the reason the kids know which end of the hammer to swing and can read a set of instructions.
Oh, those poor kids though, got to feel bad for them. How they suffered with those homemade cookies, home cooked meals and hand-sewn clothes, no store-bought stuff for them. The cruelty.....
She was always up for a new craft, a new creative challenge. When she took pottery at U of L her instructor tried to get her to go professional, even offering to build her a kiln in the backyard.
A second honeymoon took the couple to the Netherlands and Germany for an unbelievable adventure. Later Ruth would travel abroad again with her dear friend, Inger Slavin and Inger's daughter, Solveig.
June 1st 1982 brought the first grand baby, Joshua Nottingham. Over the years 4 more would follow, Laura Thomas, David Thomas, James William Bos, Nicholas Wyatt Bos and one great grandson Jackson Joshua Thomas.
In 1985, Ruth's world changed completely with the untimely death of Bill. With her children barely out of the house, she had to face a new life as an empty nester alone. She grieved privately, always the Lady, always composed publicly. In time she would find a new path for herself, expand her friendships and find new purpose.
Many of the house skills she had perfected would stand her in good stead as she made her way back into the world. She worked for a time in a test kitchen, where her attention to detail in the kitchen made her an asset. She found more success than she needed when she began sewing professionally. Her high standards brought her too much work as the dresses she turned out were stunning.
One sewing client was well known, southern cook Camille Glenn. In time they developed a friendship and Camille came to respect Ruth's attention to detail and refined palate. When Camille began work on her “Old-Fashioned Christmas Cookbook”, Ruth assisted her in testing, compiling and editing the recipes.
Ruth may have started as a quiet country girl who wouldn't dare wear pants while away at college, because her gentle father forbid her, but she became very much the modern woman in her own way. She was comfortable as a single woman living alone in a large city, but she still liked the quietness she remembered from the past and in later years chose to retreat to smaller spaces and smaller groups. In time, allergies and health concerns kept her from her beloved garden, and made the stairs of the family home challenging.
Like all in our golden years, she had earned the right to slow down and enjoy the pace of, and the flavor of, a life of her choosing. Ignoring invitations from her children, she chose to down-size to an apartment at Magnolia Springs East. Let them do the yardwork and the bulk of cooking and cleaning, she was now full on retired.
It was there Ruth spent her final years entertaining family, friends and staff with her humor and friendly chat. She continued knitting, rediscovered her love of jigsaw puzzles and discovered what every older adult learns, the joy of the anytime nap.
Today Ruth is not napping. No more. She is young, strong and free. And she is up there with the rest of our Angels laughing and reminiscing. And no doubt telling a few stories on us....
Ruth was preceded in death by her husband Bill, her grandson Joshua and her son Steve.
She is survived by her children, Sheryl, Jim and Kris, by her grandchildren, Laura, David, James William and Nickolas and her great-grandson Jackson.
A small graveside service was held with burial in Cave Hill Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests expressions of sympathy be sent to the Waterfront Botanical Gardens, PO Box 5056, Louisville, KY 40255 (waterfrontgardens.org)