Ruth (Murphy) Valine of Reno died Oct. 10 after a brief illness. She was 82. She was born Sept. 4, 1931, in Oklahoma City to Pearl Marie and Henry Goslin.

She was greatly influenced by wartime. As a young woman, Ruth volunteered for church groups and was proud to plant a victory garden to help her family survive.

By 1951 she was out on her own and working in the insurance industry in California. She married the late William “Brad” Murphy in 1953 in Grass Valley. They began their life together in Sacramento. They were blessed with two daughters, Patti and Kathy.

Ruth Valine

At the time of their marriage, Brad was a partner in a Sacramento CPA firm. In 1959, they jumped at the chance to relocate their young family to Lake Tahoe, opening a branch office of Johnson, Miller and Murphy. They quickly immersed themselves in their new community and Ruth became active in the Soroptimist club, where she was elected president in 1962. Both were ardent supporters of the drive to form a new city government. In November 1965, Brad was honored to be elected the first mayor of the newly incorporated city of South Lake Tahoe. After Brad’s untimely passing in 1971, the family relocated to Sacramento.

In 1993, Ruth relocated to Las Vegas to reunite with her family. In 2004, Ruth moved to the Reno area with her daughter, Patti, son-in-law Chuck and granddaughters Abigail and Caroline. Ruth’s daughter Kathy joined them in 2006.

Upon her return to her beloved Sierra Nevada, Ruth was thrilled to rejoin the Soroptimist International of South Lake Tahoe chapter to reconnect with many old friends. She looked forward to the Wednesday morning drive “over the hill”.

Ruth continued her lifelong history of volunteerism in Reno as she devoted time to the S.A.F.E project, numerous service activities with the Soroptimist club, and knitting hundreds of winter scarves for the Reno-Sparks Gospel Mission.

Grandma Ruth had a profound impact on her two granddaughters, instilling good manners and respect for adults. She was an avid supporter of the school activities the girls were involved in, and attended all of the girls’ volleyball, basketball, ROTC and track and field events over the years. She was quite well known in the Reno High Gym, arriving several hours before each event to knit or play her hand-held solitaire game. Grandma Ruth was passionate about creating and continuing family traditions. Her granddaughters will tell their children about “Red Shirt” ravioli dinners, the yearly Christmas gingerbread house and the ingredients for the perfect Thanksgiving stuffing and gravy.

Ruth is survived by her sister, Fran Tarjany of Culver City; daughters, Patricia Boorman (Chuck) and Kathleen Murphy. She also is survived by five grandchildren, Abigail, Caroline, Shawn, Jason, Aaron and three great-grandchildren. She will be greatly missed by her extended family and friends in Nevada and California.

The family wishes to thank the doctors, nurses, and Home Health Care employees at Saint Mary’s Regional Medical Center for their loving and compassionate care of Ruth and her family during her illness.

In lieu of flowers, the family is requesting donations be made in Ruth’s name to the Food Bank of Northern Nevada (fbnn.org) or the Reno-Sparks Gospel Mission, 355 Record St., Reno.

Many thanks to Del Laine for her assistance and support of the family. A graveside service is scheduled for Oct. 25 at 11am at Happy Homestead Cemetery in South Lake Tahoe.A celebration of Ruth’s life will be next summer in Lake Tahoe.