Ruth Hartley

Ruth Thomson Hartley, 93, died March 28, 2019, at her residence.

Ruth was born on August 27, 1925, in Seattle to James and Savannah Hanger Thomson. She moved with her parents to Glendale, California in 1927.  She attended Glendale area schools and graduated from Hoover High School in 1943 and from Whitman College in 1948.  In her teenage years she lived with and was very close to her aunt and uncle, Wayne and Sue Durham.  Her ancestors were early settlers in the Dayton area.

In April 1948, she married Warren Jamieson Hartley in Spokane. They lived most of their married life in Walla Walla.  She worked in the Whitman College Alumni Office from 1970 to 1980 and at Fort Walla Walla Museum from 1983 to 1997.

She was a member of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church and choir, Tri Delta Sorority, Chapter BI of PEO, the Walla Walla Country Club, an associate member of Junior Club of Walla Walla, the Auxiliary of the Retired Officers Association and the Whitman College Alumni Association.  She previously belonged to the Walla Walla Valley Horseman Association, American Quarter Horse Association, the Walla Walla Valley Historical Society.  She was a member of Coffee Club (a group of very close friends that met once a month) for 60 years.

She has a great love for all animals and especially enjoyed her cats, dogs and horses.

Survivors include two daughters, Kim Thompson and Jill Thomas of Walla Walla; four grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren.

She was preceded in death by her husband, and three grandchildren.

A Memorial Service will be at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 323 Catherine St., on Friday, April 26, 2019, at 1:00 p.m.

Memorial Contributions may be made to Blue Mountain Humane Society, St. Paul’s Episcopal Church or Whitman College Alumni Fund through the Herring Groseclose Funeral Home.