Aug 16, 1925 – Sep 1, 2018

Ruby Ellen Wise, a lifelong resident of the area, has died at the age of 93 in her home, surrounded by family.

Ruby was born in Irondale to Orville John & Madeline Hilda (Bishop) Twiggs on August 16, 1925. She and younger brother Richard grew up on Chimacum Creek near Ness's Corner and attended Chimacum schools. When in early 1942 her mother moved to a home closer to Port Townsend, she stayed with a friend's family for the remainder of her junior year and commuted by bicycle her senior year so that she could graduate from Chimacum High School in 1943.

For the next three years she lived in downtown Seattle while attending business college and doing office work. In the summer of 1946 she was hired in the office of the Port Townsend Crown Zellerbach Paper Mill and returned to live with her mother. In September she met her future husband William Wise, a Merchant Marine buddy of her brother, whom Richard had invited north to wait out a labor strike that had stranded them in San Francisco.

Bill & Ruby married on June 17, 1950, and moved into the house they were building along the highway south of Port Townsend, and in which they raised their family and lived the remainder of their lives. Ruby became a fulltime homemaker as her five children came along between late 1954 and early 1961. In addition to the active role Ruby played in the education and activities of her children, she and Bill were very involved with Odd Fellows organizations, initially with the lodge in Port Townsend and then as founding members of the Chimacum lodge.

They enjoyed a decade of retired life together until Bill died of cancer in December 1994. Ruby continued an active life with her children and grandchildren, lodge activities, and fun times with friends. A year ago, her health rendered her homebound, but until then she was determined to attend the Crown Z Retirees Luncheon and the Chimacum Alumni Banquet every year, and Odd Fellows Bingo twice a week.

A lasting legacy will be her contribution to the historical records of her parents' and husband's families. With the camera she was given at age 13 and the 35mm one she bought in 1952, she and Bill created a large collection of family photos. Her remarkable memory for dates, scenes, and faces provided the stories now accompanying those images in their digital form, as many of them are now being shared and reshared online to the delight of relatives young and old.

Ruby is survived by her children Ronald Wise (David Roscoe) of Port Townsend, Sunie Wise of Bothell, Thomas Wise of Port Townsend, Orville Wise (Tina Tanuvasa) of Port Ludlow, and Laurie Wise of Port Townsend; her brother and neighbor Richard Twiggs, and four grandchildren.

Her ashes will be interred at Greenwood Cemetery alongside those of her husband. A celebration of her life is planned for September 29th at 1 pm in the Chimacum Odd Fellows Hall, 11323 Rhody Drive, Port Hadlock.

The family would like to thank Jamestown S'Klallam Home Health Services for their assistance, as provided for over eleven years through the care and friendship of Darlene Taylor. We are also grateful to the staff of Jefferson Healthcare Home Health & Hospice for the compassionate care and support they provided Ruby and her family over the past year.