Reader Report: My loving grandmother just turned 105
Happy 105th birthday to Ruth Phyllis Forbes McLeod of Laguna Hills. As I recently boarded a plane with my father to travel to Italy on a business trip, I reflected on the humbling, yet often wonderful, life my Grammy has had.
She was born in Bonesteel, S.D., to her parents, Jennie and William D. Forbes. Ruthie, as her parents liked to call her, was born when Jennie was almost 50 years old. Ruth’s arrival was not only a big shock to their friends but was also a surprise to William.
It wasn’t considered popular for women at that time to get pregnant so late in life. Ruth was nearly 20 years younger than her youngest sister, Mildred. Ruth had three older sisters, Mildred, Mary and Hazel. Hazel practically raised Ruth. Ruth and her sisters grew up on the prairie fairly poor but grew up happy in a home filled with love.
Grammy’s papa owned a general store in Bonesteel and another in Nebraska that her sister Mildred and Ruth later came to manage. Farmers and Native Americans would come in and trade for items they needed, such as men’s clothing, shoes, food and other staples.
Eventually the family moved to Paso Robles and later to Los Angeles in hopes of better opportunities and a more exciting life. Grammy went to school at the California Arts and Crafts school in Oakland and attended UCLA for one year.
For pin money she would clean apartments. Later she got a job working for Bullock’s Wilshire in the advertising department. She drew elaborate maps of L.A. for the cover of the Bullock’s Tea Room menu. She also helped out in the children’s book department.
Sometime in the early 1930s, Ruth met a young man named Norman A. Mc Leod. He was a graduate of Stanford University, an athlete, who loved to play piano and loved to play practical jokes on people.
I remember one hilarious story that Grammy told me involved his days playing football for Stanford. She said during one game, when they fired off the starter gun, Norman went out into the middle of the field, put his hand over his heart and fell down on the ground, as if he had been shot. She said the crowd erupted into laughter.
Around mid 1930s, Ruth and Norman decided to get hitched in Los Angeles. They enjoyed going camping. Norman would often bring his piano and play songs for their friends long into the night in the middle of the woods. He also taught Grammy how to fly fish. Initially Grammy would fly fish to please Norm. Grammy later told me of a story one time where she spent several hours bringing in a 250-pound marlin.
Grammy said that the 13 years she was married to Norman wasn’t always easy, but she said, “life was good.”
They had two darling daughters, Catherine and Susan, who they cherished. His nickname for Ruth was Henny. Norman unfortunately died of complications from diabetes, and Ruth was forced to raise her daughters the majority of her life on her own.
I am grateful that I can carry with me fond memories and stories that I can pass down to my daughters. I remember often just sitting with her in her living room talking about life over a warm cup of Swiss mocha. The countless dinners and sleepovers at my Grammy’s home with my sister were fun times. Often I would leave her thank you notes under her pillow, thanking her for her hospitality. Those were the days we didn’t have a care in the world.
In my eyes, as a young girl, my grandmother lived an exciting life and told great stories. Grammy once described herself as a home body who loved to travel. She loved people and loved to throw parties. In one of her books I read a quote that seemed to sum up my Grammy perfectly: Never lose your joy or zest for life! One has to fight for it.
She currently lives with a caretaker who has been a godsend for the past 20 or so years. I credit her devotion to her faith, the love and devotion from her family and friends and the dedication of her caretaker as the backbone of her fruitful life.
Happy birthday, Grammy!
CARRIE VON HEMERT owns von Hemert Interiors in Costa Mesa.