Grandma Ginger
is Remembered in Song

On Tuesday, May 14th, we held the memorial service for Grandma Ginger at UPC.  Old friend Rev. Steve Berger gave an evangelistic sermon and Susan and Nancy shared memories of their mom.  Steve is the nephew of Chief Justice Warren Burger, and his son Eric and I led Scout camporee campfires and Sunday services together.  

The service was mainly a hymn sing, at Ginger's request.  I held it together until we sang the Navy Hymn while the Navy team from Everett folded the American flag.  They did this after playing the most beautiful rendition of Taps I'd ever heard.

Friends from every era of Ginger's life after she'd come to Seattle were there.  These included cousins Rob Hollis and David Cautley (above), Randy and my whole clan (including Joel), Scott and Pam Nolte from Taproot Theatre (left), Dave and Heidi James, members of the Hsu family, many UPC Elders and friends, as well as many of her Chapter A P.E.O. sisters.

After the 1:00 PM service and reception in the narthex, our family and the Hsu family and other friends went out for dinner at Chiang's Gourmet Chinese Restaurant on Lake City Way.  It was the Harbin Restaurant when it was owned by the Hsu family. 

I sat at the "kids table" between Ruth and Teresa Hsu.  They explained what I was eating and, surprisingly, I loved all of it.  Susan tried to pay for the meal, but was prevented by Ron Hsu (below).  Surely it was his way to thank the Rutherford clan for all that Bob and Ginger had done for their family from their first arrival as Chinese refugees in 1957.  The Rutherford's and Hsu's have always been close.

My contribution to the memorial service was the seven minute PowerPoint video of Ginger's life.  It is 394 MB and therefore very slow to download, but it is well worth watching.  Her memorial bulletin is here and her brief biography concludes this month's journal.

Induction into
Omicron Delta Epsilon

At this year's SBGE honors event, I was inducted into Omicron Delta Epsilon, "The International Honor Society for Economics."

I have been the chapter secretary of the
"Mu of Washington" chapter of ODE since it was established three years ago.

With the departure of Dr. Jennifer Meredith for Colby College in Maine, and the retirement of Dr. Doug Downing last year, Dr. Geri Mason was left as the only faculty member in the honor society.  She nominated the two new Economics professors, Dr. Richard Dadzie and Dr. Hau Nguyen, and myself for membership this month.

What a twist of fate. 
I chose to become an Economics major with an eye toward becoming a Social Studies teacher.  And forty-four years later, I am a member of two international academic honor societies. 

I had purchased two ODE medallions for Hau and myself, but when Richard Dadzie (the tall professor born in Ghana) changed his mind and decided to accept his nomination, I planned to give "mine" to him.  Providentially, on the day of the induction ceremony, Dr. Mason said she had an extra one a student had given her.  So she fetched it for me.  I had earlier bought medallions for Drs. Downing and Mason.  I wanted to launch the local chapter of ODE two years ago with some standards and traditions to keep to in the future.  

The two men above right are Dr. Bruce Baker (left) and MBA student Kurt Quamme (right).  Jillian Baker was on the Bellevue Christian Track team with Nathanael, and Russell Quamme was on his Wrestling team.  This worked out because Kurt had his kids in his 20s, while we had our kids in our 30s.  Kurt Quamme was the only graduate student to both qualify for and accept his nomination into Beta Gamma Sigma this year.

With the retirement of Dr. Regina Schlee, Dr. Gary Karns will succeed her as Beta Gamma Sigma Chapter President, a position he previously held.

This was the first year I was not involved with the Beta Gamma Sigma induction ceremony.  It was held again in my "outer office," the Collaboration Lab (left).  I rearranged that space for the ceremony, then moved down the hall to 118 and served as Master of Ceremonies for the annual three-society event.

A bit of Gardening in May

At 17 months, Charis continues to amaze .  I babysat her for five hours one day and we reenacted twelve Easter egg hunts!

Annie came by to help Nancy get a start on spring gardening, and Charis found a way to help.  I filled heavy jugs of water in the kitchen and Charis carried them to the deck, returning with the empty jugs for refills.

Joel and Jean took a day trip to the dog park at Point Defiance Park in Tacoma.  It was Luna's first chance to visit our yard when Joel and Luna stopped by to pick up Jean.  I got one timid lick of the hand, but her tail was between her legs the whole visit.  I'll keep wooing her.

Susan at 66

We surprised Susan on the 21st with a birthday party.  Helga Brink, Norwegian friend of Rutherford family friend Helmut Horvath, and Susan's first nurse, Lynn, were there with Annie, Thomas, Nathanael, Cynthia (and their children), along with Nancy and myself.  Dinner and cake and a chance for Susan to reminisce with friends made for a special evening.

At gatherings like this, I become grandchild-centric.  Both Charis and Jonathan are very comfortable with me.  Jonathan is cruising, a significant phase just short of walking.  He turns one on June 3rd, the birthday he shares with Thomas.

Bits and Pieces

Nancy got her store-bought tomatoes and other plants into pots, but I also got a dozen of my Early Girl seeds to sprout.  Finding a place to put them in my own tomato garden will be a challenge.

When I bought my new Nikon D750 from B&H, they gave me a $26 credit.  So, since my 35mm DX lens was better suited for one of my D300 cameras, I purchased an excellent 50mm FX lens from them for $132, less the discount.  This shot of Nancy's flowers was the first with this new lens.  It is a tiny lens that will be great for people pictures, indoor or out.


On the eve of Memorial Day, Susan, Nancy, and I drove to Acacia after church.  Boy Scouts were handing out flags to place at grave stones and Susan waved two of them out of her car window as she drove up. Later, we enjoyed the free hot dogs the Scouts offered.  Susan brought flowers, and it was our privilege to honor Major Robert V. E. Rutherford and LTJG Grace V. Rutherford.


At the request of church friend Julie Adams, we held a 4th of July-style cookout on Memorial Day.  Luna and the two babies make any event a party.  Charis knows Jean by a unique name.  Tell her to, "Go to Grantie," and she goes to Sue.  But, "Go to Auntietainment," and she goes to Jean!  Indeed, Jean owns the title, "Fun Aunt."

On May 28th, I did something I hardly ever do.  I cancelled my summer section of BUS 1700 that would have begun on June 10th, due to low enrollment.  Three students was just too small of a class.  I am relieved because this will free me up to work on my summer teaching in Acts.

I've often wanted the add this item to my journal.  Each work day, I have one particular happy moment.  It's when I pass through the gate at the southwest corner of our property and follow the path up to our back door.  Maybe someday I'll take a better video of this walk.  But here is my first effort. And if I am allowed to have a favorite tree, it greets me at the south gate. It's a Norway Maple transplanted from 7565 46th Ave. SW. Baby Groot!

I'm not buying these guns.  But it was fun to see the collection of P.E.O. member Sharon Best.  These were the guns she shot while on the Army shooting team in the 1970s and 80s.  The Smith & Wesson Model 41 would be nice to have.  But the custom 1911 (part Colt, part something else), was just too specialized to be of interest.  And I've never favored any pistol with a grip safety.  But I did enjoy making friends with my first Greyhound, this boy named "JJ."

Sharon was very gracious, gifting me with four boxes of incredibly expensive match-grade .22 LR ammunition. 
Of course, she never intends to shoot again.

My "Quote" from May

Ginger Rutherford: Wife, Mother, Mother-in-Law, Grandmother, Great-grandmother, Christian Grace Virginia Rutherford (nee Uhthoff) was born July 17, 1922, in Englewood, New Jersey, since her hometown of Cresskill had no hospital. She lost her father when she was 11 and her mother when she was 13. Her married 26-year-old sister, Ellie, then became her guardian, and they moved to New York City where she attended Hunter College High School, then Hunter College. In the summers, she taught fencing and led canoe trips at Girl Scout camp, where she gained, from her middle name, the nick-name “Ginger.” Ginger was grateful to Ellie (Eleanor Uhthoff) and her husband Anthony (Tony) Manning for becoming surrogate parents. Tony regularly met Ginger at the subway after her evening fencing lessons. As a senior in 1944, she became the Women’s National Collegiate Fencing Champion. After graduation, Ginger became an officer in the U.S. Naval Reserve WAVES, stationed in Washington, D.C. God’s hand in Ginger’s life was especially evident when He arranged for a carpool to mistake her for the person they were supposed to pick up. The other riders were all married, except for a handsome six-foot-tall Marine, upon whose lap there was room for 5’2” Ginger to sit. After the war, Major Robert Van Eman Rutherford asked LtJG Ginger what kind of ring she would like; Reverend Peter Marshall, Chaplain of the U.S. Senate, married Bob and Ginger in the Lincoln Chapel in the basement of the New York Avenue Presbyterian Church December 29th, 1945. In the age before cell phones, Bob and Ginger ended up at the Watergate restaurant for dinner, while the rest of the wedding party met at the Iron Gate. Forty years later, Susan, Nancy, and Ellie made up for this missed wedding reception with a surprise 40th anniversary at the Sand Point Naval Officers’ Club. 300 people assembled and Bob and Ginger were completely surprised. Bob and Ginger took the train to Bob’s hometown of Seattle in January, 1946, and lived first with Bob’s mother, Ethel Van Eman Rutherford. After an interval in Colorado and Wyoming (Bob was a geologist), they settled in West Seattle. Ethel then helped Ginger (pregnant with Nancy!) join Chapter A of the P.E.O. Sisterhood in 1955. Many thanks to P.E.O.’s (including the Whitman clan) who shared fellowship with Ginger over 64 years in P.E.O. Bob and Ginger became members of University Presbyterian Church (UPC) under Pastor Cowie on March 7, 1948; Bob served as Deacon (when they became friends with the Hsu family, who later helped found Evangelical Chinese Church), then both as Elders. Ginger attended UPC 73 years. Ginger and family also benefitted from wonderful fellowship, teaching, and service from such as Billy Graham (Ginger and later Nancy sang in the choirs and Bob ushered), Seattle’s Union Gospel Mission (Ginger broke ground as the first woman on the UGM Board of Directors), the Seattle Friday Morning Businessmen’s Bible Study (often facilitated by IBM Regional Manager Zeke Easley), The Navigators, and Campus Crusade.

Ginger invested her life in family and those around her. Ginger taught elementary school for a couple years, but after Susan and Nancy were born, she managed the home, including taxi-ing Susan and Nancy to lessons and competitions and volunteering a lot. Annually, she covered the bookkeeper’s vacation by running the office for Bob when he co-owned (with Johnny and Evelyn Pfeffer) and managed Havlick’s Auto Rebuild. Ginger enjoyed gardening, and in June, 1962, her rose won Queen of the Show at the annual Seattle Rose Society competition. Bob and Ginger did most things together, whether Bible study at UPC, meals for new friends, gardening, remodeling, hiking, skiing, camping, or traveling to visit family and friends. Ginger was 13 years younger than her nearest sister, Ellie, who retired from New York City social work to the Seattle area to be near Ginger and family. Ginger spent more than 30 years caring for and including Ellie in family times, as well as accompanying Ellie on exotic trips such as cruising around the tip of South America. After Bob passed in 1990 (after tuberculosis caught while a Marine), Ginger joined Susan in Redmond. This enabled Susan to pursue a very full medical career, most recently as CEO of the free women’s clinic startup 3W Medical for Women near the UW. Ginger fed Susan after many long days and served as concierge and friend to all Susan’s guests. Ginger has always been a consummate hostess (since Bob taught her to cook!), and they often included “adopted” sons Tormod Hals or Helmuth Horvath or others in adventures. In the last few years, roles were reversed, with Susan, Nancy, and granddaughter Annie and husband Thomas caring for Ginger. New great granddaughter Charis (Greek for “Grace”) and great grandson Jonathan especially entertained Great Grandma Grace. Thus Ginger spent her last years surrounded by family, guests, and lots of comings and goings. Ginger was very social and smiled broadly whenever visitors said hello, including after her December 27, 2018, stroke, when dear family friends Ron and Teresa Hsu visited, pianist Marlene Thomas played for Ginger, her UPC deacon visited, and Taproot Theatre founder Scott Nolte phoned. Generous hospitality, kindness, gentle wit, and penetrating observations were some of her trademarks. As she became more frail, with mild dementia, she retained her sweet personality, always putting others first. Ginger lived devoted to family, service, excellence, and most especially, God. God for Ginger and family is three in one: the Father, Jesus Christ His only begotten Son, and the Holy Spirit. The family prays that you obtain the joy of a personal, guiding, and saving relationship with this one true God. For loving friendship and care many thanks go to family and friends, P.E.O. sisters, church staff, Union Gospel Mission staff, Redmond/Kirkland/ Seattle 911 personnel, Evergreen and Virginia Mason Hospital staffs, Husky Services personnel, and others. After passing peacefully February 26, 2019, Ginger is now face to face with Jesus, and on earth is survived by daughters Susan Eleanor Rutherford, M.D., and Nancy Rutherford Sleight; son-in-law Dr. Richard (Dick) Lynn Sleight; grandchildren and spouses Ann Cameron (Sleight) and Thomas Andrew Disher, Nathanael Rutherford and Cynthia Christine (Eby) Sleight, and Jean Elizabeth Sleight; and great grandchildren Charis Lorien Disher and Jonathan Peregrin Sleight. As printed (sans photos) in her memorial bulletin, May 14, 2019.

Words from Wayne . . .

I often think my retired friend Wayne Pommer should find better ways to spend his time, but then,
I do appreciate the email he sends periodically.  This is but a small sample.

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