Ruth Arens

Ruth Arens, age 80, of Aurora, Colorado, died August 8th at Pathways Hospice Care Center in Loveland. A viewing will be held from 11:00 – 2:00 pm Saturday, August 15th, and a funeral service will be held at 2:00 Saturday at Airport Boulevard Baptist Church, 1000 Airport Blvd. Aurora, CO 80011. Interment will be private at the Elmwood Cemetery, Brighton. Ruth Marie Thompson was born December 28, 1928 in Willsboro, NY to Oakley and Rosalie Thompson. She graduated from Saranac Lake High School in 1945 at the age of 16, and then graduated from the Rochester Institute of Technology with an Associates Degree in Accounting in 1950. Ruth lived formerly in Spencerport, NY and worked for General Motors in Rochester from 1950 until 1963. From 1963 until 1971 she worked as a computer programmer and accountant at the Santa Clara (Calif.) Valley Medical Center. Ruth enjoyed a very varied and active life. In the early 1970's, she moved to St. Augustine, FL and owned and operated an art gallery there. She moved to Flint, Michigan and managed an apartment complex from 1973 until 1980. In the early 1980's, Ruth moved back to California and opened a catering and hospitality business until 1993 when she semi-retired to Colorado and did business accounting and taxes. In 1999, she moved again, Gypsy that she was, to Georgia and worked for the Veterans Administration and participated in various non-profit activities until finally retiring in 2005 back in Colorado. She is survived by her daughter, Teri (and husband, Darren) Mantooth of Aurora, CO; her son, Bill (and wife, Charlotte) Pelkey of Loveland, CO; her childhood friend and constant companion, Louis Pelkey of Aurora; six grandchildren, Christopher, Kirsten, Darlene, Joel, Alyssa and Candice; 13 great-grandchildren; and two sisters, Betty Stewart of Ft. Worth, TX and Mary Barbour of Rochester, NY. Ruth's three brothers, Francis, Oakley and Howard Thompson all preceded her in death. Her family requests that memorial donations please be made in lieu of flowers to Pathways Hospice, 305 Carpenter Road, Fort Collins, CO 80525. http://www.pathways-care.org