Ruth E. (Streater) Tarbox

Ruth Elizabeth (Streater) Tarbox has joined her heavenly family, and the circle is now unbroken.

Ruth Elizabeth (Streater) Tarbox has joined her heavenly family, and the circle is now unbroken. She completed her journey on Jan. 9, 2018, with her daughter, Glennis, at her side.

She was born Sept. 26, 1923, in Hoquiam, Wash., the only and beloved child of George and Ruth Streater.

Known as Elizabeth, Ruth, Aunt Ruth or Liz by those who loved her, she was especially proud of her pioneer heritage. Elizabeth is the granddaughter of pioneer settlers of both the Queets (Streaters) and Quinault (Ingrams & Lockes) river valleys. She was always keen to tell those she met that her “Pop”, George, was the first white man born on the Queets River. She had vivid memories of visits to the Streater homestead at Streater Crossing as a child and young woman, and made her last journey there when she was in her late 80’s. She crossed the river in a canoe and led the others out through the woods, outpacing everyone who had to keep reminding her to slow down.

She attended Quinault schools and graduated from Quinault High School, a proud Quinault Elk. She loved Quinault and always talked about what a wonderful place it was to grow up. She and her cousin, Elizabeth Streater Hansen, were constant companions and always up to some kind of mischief. They were known as “Streater R” and “Streater B”, in order to tell them apart. Streater “B”’s dad, Leroy Streater, had his hands full keeping track of those two!

After high school, Elizabeth moved to town, where she worked at JC Penney’s and at Wolfe’s clothing store. Elizabeth loved clothes, and was always beautifully dressed. She was an accomplished seamstress, and made many of her outfits. She always joked that she didn’t get much take-home pay, as a good portion of her wages went for material or the latest fashion she just couldn’t pass up.

Elizabeth met Glenn William Beck while they were working at the Boeing airplane plant in Hoquiam during WWII. She was very proud of being a “Rosie the Riveter”. Glenn was a riveter and Elizabeth was drilling holes for the rivets. She drilled into a fuselage, felt the drill bit hang up on something, and pulled it out to find a big hunk of red hair stuck to the bit. She then met the very unhappy owner of the hair, who came out of the fuselage in a big hurry to find out what the heck happened. They were married in her parent’s yard in Quinault in August 1945, under the big maple tree that still stands at the start of Ingram Road. They took their honeymoon in Seattle, and Elizabeth always remembered the celebration in the streets as World War II came to an end at the same time.

Elizabeth and Glenn shared many adventures during their married life. They made many trips to North Carolina to visit Glenn’s family. Early in their marriage they drove to North Carolina and worked along the way to raise gas money. Elizabeth never met an obstacle she couldn’t overcome. She was able to take a new chicken coop and some apple boxes and turn it into a cozy little house and cupboards as their first home. She could truly make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear, and willingly tackled home building, wallpapering, plastering, painting, drapery making and upholstering furniture when they built their first home. She had a special way of making any place she lived into a cozy and well-decorated home, often on a shoe-string budget.

Elizabeth was actively involved in the Quinault Community Circle, the Garden Club and the Orthopedic Hospital Guild.

Elizabeth and Glenn adopted two children, Glennis Leigh and George Steven. They resided in Quinault until their divorce in the 60’s, and Elizabeth then moved to Hoquiam. She worked at the Spar Café in Aberdeen until moving to the Bremerton area in the late 60’s.

While working in Bremerton, she met George Tarbox Jr. They married in June 1970 and she moved to Granger, Utah, where they resided until 1987. She made a deal with George at the time that she would live in Utah until George retired, but then they were moving back “home” to Quinault, and she held him to that deal. They returned to Quinault and settled into life in the Quinault valley. George passed away in 2001.

She was interested in anything and everything that happened at Quinault, Glennis often teased her about being the “Gladys Kravits” of Quinault, always watching what was going on and investigating to see what was happening when she saw something different or unusual. If she saw something, she would jump in the car and go see what was going on. She enjoyed her daily walk to her cousin Ida Lee Lutz’s house, where she would have a cup of tea with Ida Lee and Jerry and share their company.

Elizabeth was very involved with the Quinault Cancer Fund, helping organize the annual bike ride for many years in order to raise funds for the people of Quinault who had suffered a catastrophic illness or event. She also enjoyed volunteering at the Quinault Museum, sharing stories about the history of the valley and chatting with visitors.

She enjoyed a special relationship with William “Bill” Cooper from 2002 until his passing. She described their relationship as “Bill and I are an “item”, and they enjoyed playing cards, visiting with mutual friends, and sharing Sunday drives, even though they would get lost on occasion. She would say “as long as we just keep driving we’ll come out somewhere”.

Elizabeth remained in her home in Quinault until July 2015, when she moved to Channel Point Village in Hoquiam. She quickly made friends with the staff and residents there, and participated in the many events and outings. She was so happy to be able to have her beloved cat “Tux” there with her.

Elizabeth is survived by her daughter, Glennis Leigh Stamon (Mike) of Hoquiam, and her special “other daughter”, Diana Brubaker, of Aberdeen, as well as her beloved cousin, Ida Lee Lutz, of Quinault. She is preceded in death by her husband, George Tarbox Jr. and her son, George Steven Beck. She is also survived by her grandchildren Leigh Tyler Stamon, Seattle, Elissa Lee Gates (Sam), Sumner, Christie Leigh Beck, Montana, and Elizabeth May Beck, Puyallup. She is also survived by her great-grandchildren Ryan and Matthew Gates, Sumner, and her “other great-granddaughter” Aliyah Brubaker, as well as many nieces and nephews. She truly loved all of her family and friends.

Special music will be provided by Michelle Morrison. Pallbearers will be Bruce Lutz, David Lutz, Tim Lutz, David Morrison, Don Morrison, and Korey Stamon.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorial memorials to the Lake Quinault Fire Department, PO Box 8, Quinault, WA 98575 or the Lake Quinault Museum, PO Box 35, Quinault, WA 98575.

A graveside service will be held Saturday, Jan. 13, 2018, at 1 p.m. at the Quinault Cemetery, followed by a gathering at the Salmon House Restaurant in Quinault. Officiant at the service will be John Gilroy.

Arrangements are by the Coleman Mortuary, 422 – 5th Street in Hoquiam.

Please take a few moments to record your thoughts for the family by signing the on-line register at www.colemanmortuary.net.