Ruth Matthews passed away peacefully May 22, 2021 at the age of 94 due to advanced Alzheimer’s Disease. She had resisted and endured the effects of the disease for more than a dozen years. Having survived all her close family members, she was lovingly cared for by the staff at Magnolia Home Care Adult Family Home. Her medical care was overseen and managed by a dear friend with the indispensable advice and assistance of Aging Wisdom, Inc. Ms. Matthews was born to Corrinne Steiner Boggs and John Dalgus Boggs, M.D, in St. Louis, MO, and spent her youth in the small town of Fairfield, IL. She was a graduate of Fairfield Community High School, 1944. She received a BA, Cum Laude, in English from McKendree University, Lebanon, IL, in 1957 and taught English at Belleville Township High School, Belleville, IL, 1957 to 1967. To be near her son, Ms. Matthews moved to Seattle where she earned a Master of Library and Information Science degree from the University of Washington in 1969. She then worked for the Lake Washington School District as a librarian until her retirement in 1995. Ms. Matthews was preceded in death by her parents, her brother John D. Boggs, Jr., her sister, Sarah Lee Boggs of Kirkwood, MO, and her son, John Dunscombe Matthews, of Seattle. She is survived by a large community of friends and cousins. Ms. Matthews was a wonderful photographer and poet. She enjoyed music, reading and writing, travel, history and friendship. Most of all she treasured moments shared with her son and her sister. She was an active member and officer of the Queen Anne Historical Society. Ms. Matthews was an inspiration to everyone at the Queen Anne Pool where she continued to swim early morning laps until her eighty-fourth birthday. Even when ravaged by the effects of Alzheimer’s disease, Ms. Matthews continued to find moments of joy and beauty and often repeated her favorite expression: “Every day is a gift”. Ms. Matthews’s remains have been interred in the family plot at Maple Hill Cemetery, Fairfield, IL, where she rests alongside her parents, sister and son. No memorial service is planned. Gifts in her honor can be made to the Alzheimer Society or The Seattle Public Library Foundation.