She was a teeny, petite woman.
Her brown hair I’m sure, had never been dyed and although she wore make-up, it was light and never overdone.
She dressed conservatively, always neat as a pin (whatever that means).
She was kind and so sweet.
I never heard her say anything cruel or negative about anyone or anything.
She was professional and polite to every single person who approached her at the Outpatient Department counter of the small, local hospital where we worked.
That’s where we met….. at work.
We were in our 30’s when our friendship began and it went on for 40 years.
She was the Avon Lady of the hospital and I was probably one of her best customers.
But she had another good customer, I called him ACM.
One morning I saw her handing him bag of Avon goodies he’d ordered.
I took the opportunity to tease.
I told him I was sure Ruth had a crush on him.
He lit up.
He loved it.
That was the beginning.
Anytime after that, when he could find a flower in bloom somewhere around the hospital, he’d pick one, wait for Ruth to come to work in the morning then he’d bow to her and offer her the flower.
She’d blush, tuck the flower in her hair and always a “Well, thank you, Mr Moore.”
He called her his Avon Ruthie.

Time marched on and eventually we went our separate ways.
ACM moved back home to West Virginia, I moved to California and Avon Ruthie moved up north Michigan with her husband.
They built their dream-house and the plan was to live happily ever after.

We kept in touch the old-fashioned way…..we wrote letters back and forth.
I don’t think she ever had a computer at home.

It was 2 or 3 years ago when her husband was diagnosed with cancer.
He fought the battle but eventually lost.

She wrote to me about her lonliness but was gonna stay up north even through the cold, snowy Michigan winters because that had been their plan.
I tried once to convince her to move downstate, closer to her family but nothing was gonna change her mind.

She rode the riding mower in the summer, shoveled the snow in the winter and did much of the upkeep of the house herself.
She was tough; a woman with true grit.

She loved when her family came to spend time with her and was so proud that one day her dream house would belong to them.

Last week my husband brought in the mail and handed me a long envelope with a sad face.
I was confused until I saw the return address on the top corner.
Under his name he’d written, “On behalf of Ruth.”
That could only mean one thing and my heart broke before I even opened the envelope.
It was a short note from her son, just said she was gone.
I was stunned.
She never mentioned ill health.
I thought she was fine but now…..she was just gone.

Avon Ruthie is one of the characters in the book I wrote about ACM.
She’ll be in that story forever, making her immortal.

I had a visual of Ruthie entering a most beautiful place; her husband Jim taking her hand and ACM bowing as he handed her a fresh flower.

I always looked forward to our letter writing, I’ll miss that.

Her son said it all with his signature.

He wrote…..

Sincerely James,
son of the most sweet, kind, gentle mother…..Ruthie.