Ruth Eleanor Bolstad

Ruth Eleanor Bolstad, 98, passed away on Monday, December 15, 2014, in Sandpoint. Ruth Eleanor (Cunningham) Bolstad was born in Duvall, WA on February 8, 1916 to Jessie (McLean) and Luther Cunningham. She passed away on December 15, 2014 in Sandpoint. She had resided in Bonner County for 97 years. The Cunningham family arrived in Sandpoint in 1917 and moved into a home Ruth’s father had built on Pine Street Hill. Ruth graduated from Sandpoint High School in 1932, worked for a while in the school office and then found a job at the Relief Office. She moved on to the L.D. McFarland Pole Company and became the executive secretary there. When WWII started and the men in the office went away to war, she also took on bookkeeping duties. Ruth married Norman Bolstad in 1952. Ruth and Norman bought the old Helmholtz farm on Pine Street just a mile down the hill from the Cunningham house, and lived there for 57 years. It was a home where friends and relatives were welcome anytime. Shortly after the wedding, Ruth left the McFarland Company to become a fulltime homemaker. After her family, the great joy of her life was her garden. She had a tremendous green thumb. She grew many delicious vegetables which she canned each fall, using her vintage wood stove. But her real love was the flowers. The garden kept getting bigger and bigger as she acquired new plants. She loved to give away starts off her plants, too, to share their beauty with others. She was proud to say she was fortunate to live her life where she wanted, how she wanted, with people she wanted. Ruth was preceded in death by her husband, Norman Bolstad in 2010; brothers Bert, Art and Dick and sister Evelyn and their spouses. She is survived by a son, Jay Bolstad, of Sandpoint, and a daughter, Sharon Bolstad, of Albuquerque, NM, as well as numerous nieces and nephews. She was a member of the VFW Auxiliary. No immediate services are planned. A private remembrance service will be held later. The family would like to thank Felicia and Holly and the rest of the staff and management at Huckleberry House for the loving care they provided the last 3-1/2 years. The family suggests that memorials may be made to the VFW Post #2453, 1325 Pine St., Sandpoint, ID. 83864; or the Bonner County History Museum, 611 S. Ella Ave., Sandpoint, ID. 83864.