Bee A Ruble

Bee A. Ruble, 92, passed away Thursday, February 9, 2023 in Spectrum Health Butterworth Hospital in Grand Rapids, Michigan after a very short illness.

She was born August 19, 1930 in St. Ignace, Michigan to the late Oliver and Floris Ruble. While she lived most of her childhood in St. Ignace, the Ruble family also lived in Jackson, Lansing, and Port Huron.

Bee graduated from Port Huron High School in 1947 before moving to Chicago to enroll in the nurses training program at Augustana/Lutheran General Hospital, graduating in 1951. She later went on the receive a B.S. in Health Arts in 1979 from the College of St. Francis in Joliet. Bee spent the majority of her nursing career at Augustana Hospital (later known as Lutheran General Hospital) in Chicago as an orthopedic and surgical nurse and later in management of the orthopedic department and implemented and managed a new Emergency Department and large outpatient program.

After the closure of Lutheran General Hospital in 1989, Bee then worked for HealthCare Compare in Downers Grove, Illinois as a claims adjuster until her retirement in 1995. After retirement, she eventually settled in Grand Rapids, Michigan as it seemed to be the place equidistant to all of the places she was fond of (Chicago, St. Ignace, and Port Huron). As a bonus she was only about an hour away from her best friend Jan’s summer home in Stony Lake. In retirement, Bee was very active in her church, St. James Lutheran and several of its committees (DORCAS -of which she was president for several terms, food pantry, vacation bible school, second best sale, blood drives for the Red Cross) for many years.

The best word to describe Bee would be “FUN”. She always had a mischievous smile on her face and a personality to match. She embodied the role of “doting Auntie” to many (being a blood relative was not a requirement) and was a Godmother to her niece Kriste, Jeffrey Kawada and Jodi Bee (Kawada) Page. The last two decades of her life she formed a strong bond with a young immigrant family from Bosnia and their children, fulfilling a dream of living as a family and nurturing the two boys, as she permanently resided with them from 2016 until her death. Her other favorite hobbies were shopping and visiting with family and friends.

Bee is survived by a niece, Kriste (Dale) Hollenbaugh; nephews, Rev. Chuck (Karen) Tessaro and Rev. Paul (Michelle) Tessaro; great nephews and nieces, Rev. Eric (Sarah) Tessaro, Karla (Rev. Brian) Veal, Melody (Kyle) Maki, David (Shannon) Tessaro and Katie (Andrew) Moos; 10 great-great nieces and nephews; her “adopted Bosnian family”, Sanel, Anela, Dzemal and Hasan Mesinovic; life-long friend/”adopted” sister; Jan Martin; and life-long friends in Chicago, the Nanos’s, Kawada’s and Martin’s.

Bee was preceded in death by her parents, Oliver & Floris; siblings, Charles Ruble, Adah Tessaro and Arthur Ruble; and nephews, William Tessaro and Greyson Veal.

A memorial service will be held at 1:00 p.m. at St. James Lutheran Church in Grand Rapids, Michigan on Saturday, May 20, 2023 with internment in Forest Rose Cemetery in Lancaster, Ohio.

Memorial contributions may be made to St. James Lutheran Church.

Arrangements are by Pollock-Randall Funeral Home. To send condolences, visit pollockrandall.com