Ruth C. Talbot

Ruth was a compassionate and dignified woman with a passion for life. She had awonderful sense of humour which endeared her to everyone and it is a great testament to her nature that she formed so many long lasting friendships over the years.
Ruth Esther Cobb was born August 19, 1916, the midst of World War I. The family home in Mt. Cobb, Pennsylvania was being wired for electricity that summer where they still kept horses and wagons.
She grew up in Scranton with her mother, Marguerite Weaks and sister Marion - having lost her 33 year old father during the Philadelphia Spanish Influenza epidemic, 1918.
Her mother never remarried, despite offers, saying she had been married to the perfect man. It was a difficult time, but the three women forged bonds that would endure forever.
Ruth loved growing up in Scranton, learning to roller skate on hills! And buying huckleberries from the "Huckleberry Girl" calling out her wares on the street. She and Marion were doted upon by two maiden aunts, Grace and Isabelle Weaks, even taking the two sisters on a cross country trip, via steam engine on the Great Northern Railway in 1928 to visit the newly opened National Parks, from Mackinac Island and Glacier
National Park to the Badlands. A trip Ruth documented with her Brownie camera.
She attended the University of Pennsylvania, graduating in 1939 with a degree in early childhood education and went on to marry her high school sweetheart, Bill Hart. Janet Ruth was born shortly after.
World War II changed a lot of things for the world at large and closer to home. After 12 years of marriage and a divorce, Ruth married Naval Pilot James Talbot. Marion Nanette and Pamela Suzanne joined Janet in the growing family. Ruth, every inch the school teacher, had a penchant for wordplay and aphorisms, rubber bands became "bubber rands" and a ready saying was always on her lips: "birds in the nest must squabble" when the sisters were arguing or "many hands make light work" when anybody was showing signs of laziness. Her pet peeve as resident
grammarian was pronoun usage, I vs. me. "Sue and I are going to the store" not "Sue and me"! She also had beautiful penmanship, which she unsuccessfully tried to instill in her three daughters, forcing them to sit at the desk at a certain distance, just so, arm crooked, gently holding the pen.
The family shared warm holidays together with the "farm cousins". Ruth's sister Marion settled in upstate New York and together with her husband raised four children on their dairy farm. Thanksgiving and Easter were celebrated on the farm, and summers with the cousins took place in Ocean City, New Jersey. It was like one big family with seven kids!
A devout Methodist Ruth and the girls attended Bala Cynwyd Methodist Church regularly on Sunday but Ruth devoted her time to other pursuits the rest of the week: she belonged to several Bridge Clubs, hosting many Bridge Parties at home. A history buff, she traced the family genealogy back to the 17th century, and was an active member in several organizations such as Founders and Patriots , New England Women and Daughters of the American Revolution , Jeptha Abbott Chapter.
Never satisfied with simply being a member of an organization, she readily assumed leadership roles, such as being the President and holding various offices for the Women's Club of Bala Cynwyd and coordinator of their annual fundraiser, the Antique Show. Ruth made a difference in lives through her volunteer work at the Overbrook School for the Blind.
Ruth had standards, she herself never uttered a bad word. She believed in the power of play for small children and the importance of modeling good behavior. Patient, loving and non-judgemental, she was fierce, like the Lion that is her astrological sign, sharp-witted with a wry sense of humor that never dimmed for over a hundred years.
Greatly loved, she will be greatly missed!
She is survived by three children, Janet Muhlenberg, Marion Nanette Talbot and Pamela Harris and seven grandchildren: Austin, Ari, Ashley and Audrey Seraphin; Avery, Nick and Anna Harris and one great grandson Demian Seraphin.

Family and friends are invited to attend her graveside services, 10 AM, Tuesday January 16, 2018 at West Laurel Hill Cemetery, 225 Belmont Ave, Bala Cynwood, PA.