Ruth Josephine Bergstrom was born in Oklahoma City on December 18, 1927, to Roy and Olive Bergstrom. She loved music from an early age, playing piano and viola duets with her older brother, Raymond, and, as a teenager, serving as her church’s organist.

Ruth met Edmund Jones while attending boarding school in Keene, Texas, 72 years ago. They married in 1948 and had their first child, Anita, a year later.

In 1951, the young family moved from Oklahoma to Alaska, driving on the unpaved ALCAN Highway, where they settled into a small cabin in Juneau. There, Edmund hunted and fished, and Ruth learned to smoke salmon and cook game. She gave birth to their second child, Teresa, in Anchorage, in 1954. I

n 1955, three weeks before daughter Pamela was born, the family moved to Montana, where Edmund began his career as an Adventist minister. A year later, Ruth held her family together as she nursed Edmund through a long recovery following a life-threatening farm accident.

After a few years in cold country, they moved to sunny Phoenix, AZ, where Ruth gave birth to Stephen in 1963. As a pastor's wife, Ruth led children's Sabbath School, was church secretary, provided special music, was organist, pianist, choir director, and social director. She taught piano in her home and classroom music at schools. She also served as choir director and organist for other churches on Sundays.

After pastoring at Camelback Adventist Church in Arizona, the family moved to Glendale, CA, where Edmund and Ruth led Hollywood Adventist Church, and then, in 1974, they moved to Lancaster, eventually retiring from Lancaster Adventist Church in 1992.

Ruth composed many songs. She published her entire collection, Songs of Love and Praise, in 2011. Her busy life came to a sudden halt in 2015 when diagnosed with multiple myeloma. The ravages of time and disease were difficult for her, but her faith in God remained strong. She passed away peacefully in her sleep on January 20, 2017.

Ruth is survived by her husband, Edmund, her children and their spouses; Anita Horner, Teresa and Daniel Maupin, Pamela and Larry Bender, and Stephen and Jennifer Jones. Her nieces Marcia Bergstrom and Cheryl Bergstrom. Her grandchildren and their spouses; Kerena and Rolando Mendez, Shana and Ed Sammons, Marisa Maupin, Brandon Maupin, Evan and Jennifer Bender, and Wesley and Holly Bender. Her great-grandchildren Jack Sammons, Daisy Sammons, Paige Mendez, Nolan Mendez, and Sophia Bender.

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