In Loving Memory
Ruth Darling
Wife, Mother, Nonni, Sister and Friend
Jan. 15, 1957 — Feb. 10, 2024
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — Ruth Darling passed away on Feb. 10, 2024.
She lived her life with joy and very rare were the days that she didn’t laugh and count her blessings.
She had battled cancer for the last months of her life but never complained and still was the heart of her family, finding joy in her marriage and being a loving mother and grandmother.
Ruth Nelson was born to Vivian and Jack Nelson in Winnemucca, Nevada in 1957. She never forgave her parents for not making it to Reno for her birth!
Ruth attended multiple schools before finally settling in Grass Valley, California, and finishing grammar school.
Ruth attended Nevada Union High School where she met the love of her life, Dennis Darling. From the time that they met in the grocery aisles of Shop N’ Save they were inseparable for the next 53 years.
Ruth received her greatest pleasure in the company of her family. She hosted family dinners on a regular basis and loved the cacophony of children playing and adults sharing their lives. Thanksgiving, Christmas and birthdays were always loud and celebrated with all the family.
She loved her daughters and relished their calls that kept her updated on their lives. She loved all her grandchildren and spent many happy hours sharing their lives, always passing on a life lesson. Her fondest memories were of family cruises, family trips to Hawaii, Disneyland and wherever family was nearby.
Ruth was very involved in the Lake County community. She worked in the family grocery business starting in 1983 and retired only a month before her passing.
She had served on the Lakeport schools site council, PTO and was involved in her daughter’s sports and fine arts.
Ruth supported many local charities with her time and donations, but when she joined the Lakeport Rotary Club, she really found her passion. She loved working on the Konocti Challenge bike race, the community Easter egg hunt, community service projects and hosting foreign exchange students. She served as club president and secretary and loved the local and international community service that Rotary provided.
Ruth loved her home and never tired of the beautiful sunrise over Clear Lake. She was at peace there and commented many times that she had found her paradise right here in Lake County.
She also loved to travel and had been all over the world and to all 50 states. Ruth loved experiencing new places and meeting new people, always with a smile. She truly believed that travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry and narrow mindedness and that only through learning about other people can we understand the world.
Ruth approached each day with enthusiasm and curiosity, finding joy in simple pleasures and expressing gratitude for life.
Her attitude was contagious, inspiring those around her to appreciate their own experiences. Ruth embodied the spirit of a life well lived and will be missed by all who she touched.
Ruth was predeceased by her mother, Vivian, and her father, Jack, and sister Lennis.
She is survived by her husband, Dennis; daughter Amber (Victor) Talmage; grandsons, Devon Talmage, Blake Talmage and Braxton Talmage; granddaughters, Chelsea Cook, Madison Boyer and Hope Cook; great granddaughter, Wrenley Floro; daughter, Kori (Andrew) Pierson; grandsons, Quinn Pierson, Jacob Pierson and Ben Pierson; and sister; Dawn (Jim) Hodge.
In addition, she leaves behind numerous nieces, nephews, great nieces and great nephews.
It isn’t when we were born or when we died that matters, it is the time in between and how we lived and loved.
Ruth lived everyday with joy and gave her love unconditionally.
