Ruth Humphrey

Ruth Humphrey passed away peacefully from a gently weakening heart on January 31, 2013.

She was born Ruth Ann Atkins, the fifth of six children, on August 8, 1919 to Elizabeth Hoopes Atkins and Samuel Ellsworth Atkins at 1909 Woodland Avenue in Duluth, Minnesota. Her back yard, while growing up, was an apple orchard. Ruth rode the Woodland streetcar to Duluth Central High School, graduating in 1937. She attended Wilson College in Pennsylvania through 1939 and received a degree in education from the University of Minnesota in 1941.

During the war years Ruth taught preschool at the Kaiser Shipyards in Portland, Oregon. One day at the bus stop, she met a woman who recommended a book, The Christian's Secret of a Happy Life. As Ruth read the book she realized that she did not have a personal relationship with Jesus, even though her parents deeply loved the Lord. She knelt by her bed and asked Jesus to be her Savior and Lord. Ruth said that her life and her priorities changed after that.

Ruth returned to Duluth in 1945 where she was introduced to Bruce Bradley. They were married on Valentine's Day, 1946, followed by a honeymoon at the Mardi Gras in New Orleans. A mining venture with his father, Edward, and brother, Wayne, placed Bruce and Ruth in their first home in Iron Mountain, Michigan, where Ruth's four children; Paul, Katie, Dan and David Bruce were born. April 1954 brought an untimely death to Ruth's beloved husband Bruce.

The young family moved back to Duluth that autumn, constructing a new house, displacing the apple orchard behind Ruth's father's residence. Ruth's two sisters, Marg and Libby, both lived within a few close blocks at that time. On June 4, 1966, Ruth married Milford John Humphrey Sr., gaining four more children, Milford Jr., Richard, Judy, and Steve, whose lives and children's lives and grandchildren's lives she richly shared. Having moved to Grand Marais, Minnesota, Ruth greatly enjoyed her new life in the community. When her dear husband Milford Sr. passed away in 1996, Ruth considered moving elsewhere, but chose to remain where the Hand of God and the hearts of friends felt so very close to her.

Ruth was preceded in death by her parents and five siblings, Sam, Bill, Margaret, Elizabeth, and Ned; and by her husbands, Bruce and Milford, and Milford's three sons, Milford Jr., Richard and Steve, and by her son-in-law Ed Kaspar.

Ruth is survived by her four children, Paul Bradley (Sue) of Bellevue, Washington; Katie Kaspar of Chicago, Illinois; Dan Bradley of Duluth; David Bruce (Barbara Lea) of Minneapolis. She is also survived by her stepdaughter, Judy Falc (Richard) of Red Wing and her step-daughters-in-law Linda Zenk of Grand Marais and Donna Hannah of Elk River. Ruth's grandchildren are Nat Bradley of Seattle, Washington; Ben Bradley (Jody) of Hailey, Idaho; Bradley Kaspar (Lucy) of Vsetin, Czech Republic; Ben Kaspar (Kami) of Long Beach, California; Amy Kaspar of Chiang Mai, Thailand; Brian Humphrey (Pam) of Princeton, Minnesota; Brenda Barr (Colin) of Edina, Minnesota; Brita Webber (Tim) of Apple Valley, Minnesota, Kirstin Ullenberg (Rolf) of Bloomington, Minnesota, Emilie Falc (Jay Kohner) of Winona, Minnesota; Eric Humphrey (Amber), Grand Marais; Stephanie (Eric) Anderson, Grand Marais; Esther Gee (Hayden), London, England; Nate Skon, San Francisco, California; and Cara Skon, Minneapolis; and by 19 lovely great-grandchildren. She is also survived by her favorite childhood doll, Georgina, a precious 160-year friend now donated to the Grand Marais Historical Society.