BURGE, Ruth Ann

Ruth Ann Burge Burge, Ruth Ann My children, when you come to visit here And bring a rose to lay upon my stone, Come not in grief, don't shed a single tear, Because from you I have not really gone. Be happy in your heart and look for me In every gentle whisper of the wind, For there upon its wings I'll always be, As memory recalls a loving friend. My darling dears, remember with a smile, And know we will be together in a while Ruth Gillis, 1995 Ruth Ann Burge (1932-2007), resident of Laguna Hills, in the loving presence of her children and her husband and constant companion of 57 years, departed from all of us on the morn of February 27, 2007, with a fresh spring rain softly falling amongst intermittent brilliant sunshine and fluffy clouds clothing her soul as she soared away to eternity. She was born on February 18, 1932, in Salida, Colorado, to her parents, Josephine Rose Zingone and Lester Frank Zingone, both of whom have paved the paths of heaven before her. She met her husband at the University of Colorado in a 1950 golden Colorado fall, and they have been inseparable ever since. They were married on June 21, 1953, and raised three daughters, Roxann Marie, married to Lawrence A. Strid, Wendy Lee, married to Scott Dickinson, and Kelly Lynn. They have two grandchildren, James Jay and Rachel Nicole Dickinson. Affectionately known as Ruthie, she was a five feet tall, one hundred ten pound dynamo bounding through life from birth to departure from her mortal earthly body, never slowing, never dwelling on why something could not be done, never wasting time on negatives, never uttering an angry word and always spreading love and friendship and positive thoughts wherever she went. She made it a point each of her days to always have her cup of life at least half full. She came from hard working first generation Italian and Austrian parents with instilled values that could not be compromised. Her relationship with Harley and his parent's values was a perfect match of such values. Her life was one of tremendous accomplishment. She graduated from Palmer High School in Colorado Springs, where she earned the first female sports letter with her feats in swimming and, of all things, being the leader of the rifle team, long before there was any Title IX. She had her full life guard credentials by the age of fourteen. She went to the Univ. Of Colo, majoring in art, a field that she excelled in. She supported Harley in his masters degree in engineering at Penn State, where Roxann was born in 1954. She supported Harley in his United States Navy career, wherever they were stationed. Wendy was born in 1956 while they were stationed in Alaska. Kelly was born in 1958 when they were stationed in San Francisco She supported and organized military service people relief programs, a cause dear to her heart that she continued throughout her life after they left the service, and moved to the San Fernando Valley in 1958. She passed the military support skills onto Wendy, and she continued such with Wendy throughout her life. After she and Harley left the military service, she immediately spread her volunteer enthusiasm and talents to the Junior League in Los Angeles. She organized and carried out successful charity events one after another. She supported worthwhile charities all her life. She never saw a homeless person that she did not pause to help. As her three daughters grew she decided they needed a sports activity to be well rounded persons, so she started them all into ice skating, a sport that she loved as a child in Colorado Springs where a number of her friends were competitors. Her father had his custom tailoring business and made outfits for the stars of the early 50's...Jimmy Grogan, Ronnie Robertson, and Dick Button. Skating needed volunteers and she threw her tireless energies at the sport, raising monies, making the most beautiful skating outfits, organizing ice shows, supporting the aspirations of her daughters, and learning to judge the sport. She rose to become a national judge in singles and pairs, and judged in the sport for almost 45 years. As was her way she quietly and without fanfare provided support to needy athletes in figure skating, local sports, and the United States Olympic movement. If a kid needed support or encouragement in sports she provided it without hesitation. During the late 50's and the 60's when it was fashionable for Easter bonnets and matching dresses she turned out fabulous designs and outfits for her daughters and friends. At the same time, she completed and obtained a degree in design and management. She has left her design mark all over Orange County in homes and businesses and senior citizen residences, as well as her own home in Laguna Hills. In the late 70's she took on a hotel project in Cairo when a woman in business was not all that respected in the Arab world. But Ruthie knew exactly how to deal with the Arab man's ego. She simply hired a go-between in Athens for dealings in Egypt and was the consummate host in the United States. In 1983, Kelly was terribly injured in an auto accident. It was Ruthie's constant positive attitude and never-give-up strength that brought Kelly back from the brink of death. Ruthie turned her talents to working with the head injured. She devised new stimulation and rehab methods not only for Kelly but for kids that many in the medical fields thought were hopeless cases. She organized fund raisers and served for many years on head injury foundation boards. She turned her organizational and management skills to Harley's and Larry's law practice for nearly 25 years. She loved to travel all over the world, and would spend hours in art museums and little villages to meet people. Her beautiful home was used as a repository for simple but elegant reminders of wherever she had been. Ruthie had breast cancer in 2000 which she overcame with her positive attitude. Then she simply went into overdrive to accomplish the things she set out to do. She planned a final trip to Europe and Normandy which was interrupted by the 9/11 events. She fiercely supported her country's efforts in response to the new challenges from those that would destroy her way of life that she had so tirelessly worked on all her life. She then took that last trip, going to Normandy where her cousins and uncles came ashore, going to Paris, Florence and Tuscany, and to Rome. Then she took her whole family to Washington, DC, for her grandson's graduation gift and pointing out to her grandchildren what a marvelous country they were born in. Then she became ill and offered herself up in an experimental lung cancer program at UCLA. Typical Ruthie knew it might not work for her but it would help someone else. Ruthie always found beauty and goodness everyday of her life. She fiercely loved her country and its principles. She could not stand or suffer fools who did not share her patriotic enthusiasm or who did not appreciate her great country. Many a politician felt her sting when she felt he or she had strayed from the principles that made her country great. Ruthie lived a life of honesty with a capital H. She epitomized integrity with a capital I. She reached out with care for others with a capital C. She practiced love with a capital L. She strongly believed that character matters with a capital C. Ruthie simply would not compromise these beliefs for any purpose. No one ever had to guess where Ruthie stood on such matters. She instilled these values in her children. She inspired those around her to strive for the same principles. She always knew that living such principles simply made a better world. Her magnetic personality drew perfect strangers and little children to her, no matter where she went. Little children in strollers would reach out to touch her. She never met anyone that did not instantly bec Published in the Orange County Register on 3/3/2007.