We can learn so much from the life of Richard A. ‘Dick’ Ruth, a self-proclaimed ‘feeble evangelizer of Jesus Christ.’
Although Richard A. “Dick” Ruth died on Aug. 20, after a century of living, his obituary has been on the hearts and minds of countless Catholics.
Written by himself, it was a work in progress for the latter part of his life, as he worked to make it most perfect: embodying his quick wit and humor, his devotion to God and the unborn, his love of friends and family.
Dick begins by pointing out a truth many are slow to ascertain:
“Dick’s soul did not go shooting straight up to Heaven like everybody else’s does, but made a detour to Purgatory where he will remain until he is purified enough to stand before his all-perfect maker.”
Never having the chance to meet this darling soul who exemplified such a love for others in a now viral obituary, one can only surmise from reading it that he had many friends. Marriage came much later in life for Dick, who spent his 65th birthday celebrating his wedding with his bride Dorothy, whom he admired for many reasons, including:
“Dick had a lot of self-respect after he realized his wife Dorothy waited for 50 years for that perfect man to come along and she settled for him.”
Dick, “who was influenced by the well-kept graves he saw in the cemeteries of Germany,” spent much of his time tending to a corporal work of mercy that Catholics spend the entire month of November devoted to: praying for the dead. Working with soil around the headstones of his buried loved ones, he “worked hard through the years to keep the graves of his beloved dead well adorned with tulips in the spring and summer flowers throughout the rest of the growing season.”
There is little mention of what this humble man did for a living but he does lament the fact that “he failed miserably in his youthful dream to fill his ‘uncle’ Babe Ruth’s baseball shoes.”
The man who lived to be 100 knew well that material things do not matter, only opting to drive “big used cars until he finally broke down and bought a new one.” He was “well known for his German thriftiness (or if you wish, his Teutonic miserliness). Not for the money he hoarded, but for the things he saved.”
Instead, he gave his money to important things, including his Church.
“Actually, Dick was one of the few Catholics who tithed, and in later years, sometimes he double tithed.”
When not tending to the verdant gardens at the cemetery, he toiled in the vineyard hoping to bring others closer to Jesus. Dick describes himself as a “self-appointed and self-acclaimed defender of the faith.”
“Faithful, active member of the Cursillo movement since 1976. Auxiliary member of the Legion of Mary. Strong opponent of abortion and pornography.”
He had such an ardent aversion to sex and violence, he hardly watched any television. In a family video posted alongside his obituary, he only had the TV on to recite the Rosary with our dear foundress, Mother Angelica, on EWTN.
He was also strictly against smoking and “was quick to point out that he outlived many of his smoking contemporaries.”
His love for life and the unborn really took shape in 1979, when he co-founded and became a “faithful member of St. Benedict’s Pro-Life prayer group.” He also mentions he was an “in-active, card-carrying member of the Knights of Columbus, like so many of his brother Knights.”
A self-proclaimed “feeble evangelizer of Jesus Christ,” Dick also had a real love for spiritual music as a “faithful member of the St. Benedict Choir from 1959 until 1995 when he got too old to ‘cut the mustard.’”
“Well known for his heart-felt rendition of ‘Danny Boy’ which he plans to sing at his own funeral, in spite of the fact that his voice has deteriorated. He rated himself among the top 20 singers in the St. Benedict Parish, a view shared by almost no one.”
In an era where the elderly are so often overlooked, “Dick was an eccentric, counter-cultural person. He had no interest in what the culture was interested in,” timely wisdom in this day and age where there are many wars being waged against the family, God and our many first freedoms, including free speech.
And in an extremely toxic digital age where faces look down at a device instead of catching the eye of a passerby, Dick was most interested in meeting others and being charitable. He remarked in a family tribute video about the sad fact that “no one stops to talk anymore.”
Above all, Dick had one main interest: “Jesus Christ and the Catholic Church (in spite of its many shortcomings), and the scripture.” He also had a real passion for poetry and psalms that he would recite, knowing them by heart.
A true Catholic gentleman, Dick left humor on the hearts of those he loved with his obituary, including these jocular words:
“To those who view my mortal remains, know thee this: I really was not this handsome while alive. It just goes to show you that Bill Harris and his staff know how to make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear.”
As his family and friends gather this weekend to bury this dear man who has left an impression on thousands, let us keep Dick in our thoughts and prayers. Maybe offer a Rosary for him and, in pure Dick fashion, maybe say it alongside Mother Angelica.
May we all carry on his spirit as we move forward into the fall, remembering the dead in the Month of All Souls. And may we find time to visit our loved ones and leave blooming flowers, fresh footsteps on the grass and offer up prayers and songs high up to heaven, where all the angels and saints rejoice in a life well-lived.
Dear Dick will be buried at St. Joseph Cemetery Mausoleum “under the mosaic of St. Joseph, the patron saint of a happy death, and under whose watchful protection his remains will lie until doomsday.”
“In lieu of flowers, Dick requests that all his smoking friends (few though they may be) stop smoking for one day in his memory.”
May he rest in eternal peace.