Long time Ellensburg resident Ruth Cross, 91, died peacefully on April 9th, 2013 at Royal Vista Nursing and Rehab Center.Ruth was born on February 26th, 1922, in The Dalles, Oregon, to Robert and Minnie Simms. She was the third of three children. She grew up near the Columbia River where her father ran a ferry, sometimes living in Alderdale, on the Washington side, and sometimes in Boulder, on the Oregon side. She attended school in Alderdale and graduated in 1938, being one of 4 senior class students.On a hot summer day in 1938, a wheat field worker, Kenneth Cross, happened to stop to swim in the Columbia River near the ferry and met the ferry-man's daughter, Ruth. He captured her attention when he would push her head underwater when she swam up to the dock. When they finally came up for air, it was love at first sight, and they were married in 1939. They settled down in Ellensburg, where Kenny operated a Texaco gas station for his uncle. The gas station eventually became an auto repair shop, Big Star Service, and Kenny and Ruth bought the business when his uncle retired. Kenny fixed the cars, and Ruth balanced the books acting as his unpaid office manager.Kenny and Ruth were separated during the early part of WWII when Kenny joined the Army. He was an instructor stationed at Aberdeen, Maryland and she returned to her family in Alderdale, WA after the birth of their son, Mike. After receiving an incomplete telegram, which seemed to indicate that Kenny was about to be sent overseas, she made a solo journey across the country by train to see him, and discovered the mistake. They liked being together, in spite of cramped living conditions, so she made two more epic journeys across the country and returned with 2 yr old Mike. They eventually transferred to El Paso, TX and then returned to Ellensburg after the war, where they have lived ever since. They raised 3 more children, David, Debi and Cyndi.Ruth had many hobbies and interests, but was primarily a homemaker. She was talented at sewing and knitting, cooking, gardening, canning her tomatoes and making tons of jams. She was employed as knitting instructor in the local yarn shop, and then worked at Dean's Radio and TV for many years. They were members of the Methodist Church where they did volunteer work with the church and at the Lazy F Youth Ranch, as well as volunteering with the Red Cross and RSVP. They were founding members of the Ellensburg Boat Club, and taught roughly a million kids to water-ski.Ruth and Kenny were married for almost 71 years. He preceded her in death on March 10th, 2010. She is survived by her children, Mike (Susan) Cross of Snohomish; David (Carol) Cross of Ellensburg; Debi (Les) Leitholt of Spokane; and Cyndi (Dale) Loveland of Ellensburg. She is also survived by her sister-in-law, Altha Barnhart of Ellensburg; sister-in-law Blanche Simms of Boise, ID; brother-in-law Jack Cross of Mount Vernon; and grandchildren, Brad (Young Me) Cross of Midland, TX; Lisa McCorkill, also of Midland; Erich (April) Cross of Ellensburg, Michael (Dierdre) Cross of Seattle; Kristi Leitholt of Spokane; Kim Clifton of Spokane; Brian (Holly) Loveland of Spanaway; Nicole Miller of Wenatchee; Bryan Yancy of Ellensburg and 14 great-grandchildren.A memorial service will be held at 3:00 PM on Saturday, April 20th at the United Methodist Church in Ellensburg. Memorials may be made to the local chapter of the Red Cross.The family would like to thank the entire staff of Royal Vista for their loving care of Ruth.Arrangements under the care of Steward & Williams Tribute Center. 509-925-3141. www.steward-williams.com