Ruby Violet Kiester, 95, of Nampa, passed away Sunday, October 15th. Ruby was born May 26th, 1922 to Andrew and Bertha (Smith) Hill in Redmond Oregon.  The family moved several times before coming to Idaho at the request of Andrew’s brother.  They ended up homesteading at Riverside.  Ruby went to school at Riverside and Marsing.  Her brother, Duane, was dating Opal Kiester and they went on a double date with Ruby and Howard.  Howard commented that he was going to marry that girl with the black hair.  It was a marriage that would last 42 years. 

Ruby and Howard were married, 15th November 1941 in Payette, Idaho.   The newlyweds lived in the basement of Howard’s parents until they could construct a one-room shack on their homestead west of Marsing on Hogg Road.  It was here that both the house and the family grew. The house grew from a one-room shack without running water (Ruby had to haul her water), or electricity, to a four-room home with a bathroom, running water, and electricity. During this time, Ruby and Howard had four children: Howard Allen, Jimmie Merrill, Ronald Ray, and Connie Diann. 

Ruby was a member of the Nazarene church and the pastor once asked her what hobbies she had. She told him her hobby was taking care of her family. Anyone who knew Ruby knew that was true. 

Ruby was also a charter member of the Jump Creek Club and she worked at various jobs throughout her life including picking peaches in the local orchards, working at Morfatt's and Marsing Hardware, and driving a mail route for the post office, a job that would last 20 years. She also loved dancing at the Grange and listening to the Grand Ole Opry and the Statler Brothers. 

When her high school sweetheart and longtime husband, Howard, passed away of a heart attack in 1984, Ruby continued to live on the farm for two years before meeting and marrying her second husband, Chuck Young, in 1986. They moved out to the Givens area, but their union was short-lived at three years before he passed away. 

When Ruby moved back into Marsing she bought a place in town, but it was on the outskirts enough to feel like the country. Here she was blessed with some wonderful neighbors. They often looked out for Ruby and became a part of her life and family. And her family was large with many children and grandchildren and great-grandchildren gathering at her home, different times of the year, to celebrate or just stop by and stick a hand in a cookie jar that they knew would always be full. 

Ruby continued to live in Marsing until her health began to fail in 2010. From 2010-2013 she lived with her daughter, Diann, in Redmond, Oregon. As her health declined, she came home and recently completed her long life's journey while a resident at Karcher Estates. 

She was preceded in death by her husband Howard Kiester, parents Andrew and Bertha (Smith) Hill, brothers Donald, Harold, and Duane Hill and sisters Thelma Ulrich and Audrey Plumb; son Jim Kiester, son-in-law Raymond Gentis, granddaughter Gidget Kiester, and great-grandson Dillon Olsen.

She is survived by her children and their spouses: Allen (Trish) Kiester of Pine, Ron (Carol) Kiester of Marsing, Diann and Ron (Remsen) of Redmond, Oregon and daughter-in- law Carolyn Kiester of Nampa; 13 grandchildren, 28 great-grandchildren, and 23 great, great, grandchildren.  In lieu of flowers, the family has asked that donation be made to the Marsing Disaster Auction.

Graveside services for Ruby will be held Thursday, October 19th, at 1 p.m. at the Marsing-Homedale Cemetery. Immediately following will be a gathering for friends and family at the Marsing Legion Hall.  A huge thank goes out to  the staff of Karcher Estates for taking care of her these past years.