In Loving Memory of Ruth Bridgeland Alford

Ruth Bridgeland Alford

March 9, 1927 – September 9, 2022

Ruth Bridgeland Alford, 95, a longtime resident of Evergreen, Colorado, died on September 9, 2022 in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Ruth was born in Winnebago, Illinois and grew up on a farm, where she and her two sisters helped their parents run the farm during the Depression and WWII. She played the violin, was a good student, and was homecoming queen in high school. She received her BA from the University of Iowa, then went on to McCormick Theological Seminary, where she completed a master’s degree in social work. She also met Jack Alford there; they were married in 1951 and started a family. After Jack served in Korea, they settled in Des Plaines, Illinois where Jack served as assistant pastor and youth minister. They had four children: three sons and a daughter.

They moved to Lakewood, Colorado in 1961. While her husband traveled extensively as an ecumenical minister, Ruth held down the fort at home and took care of her family. After ten years, they moved to Long Island, New York, where she taught in Rocky Point School District as an enrichment specialist and took night classes for her second master’s degree at Stony Brook University. After surviving breast cancer at age 50, Ruth volunteered to help others who faced the same challenge.

A few years after Jack’s sudden death in 1983, Ruth retired and moved back to Colorado, where she built her dream home in Evergreen and embarked on many adventures of her own choosing. She traveled extensively, joyfully worked in her flourishing garden (once featured in the Evergreen Garden Club’s annual Garden Tour), and became active in many Evergreen organizations. She loved singing in the choir at Rockland Community Church, which even brought her back to NY to perform in Carnegie Hall. She was active in AAUW, the Evergreen Garden Club, and the Audubon Society. She also volunteered for Mount Evans Home and Health Care/Hospice and served as a board member of the Evergreen branch of the Denver Symphony Orchestra. Ruth enjoyed bird watching and loved spending time with friends and her ever-expanding family.

Ruth was tenaciously independent. She had both of her knees replaced at age 88, and drove herself around her community into her 90s. She was proud to point out that she had never gotten a ticket or had an accident since she first started driving the backroads of Winnebago as a teenager! Throughout her life, Ruth was known for her love of nature, her kindness and generosity, and her devotion to God.

When Ruth’s health began to fail recently, she moved to Colorado Springs to live with the loving care and support her oldest son and his wife. Over time, she required increased medical attention, and after months of decline, passed away at Sunrise Senior Living, surrounded by her children.

Ruth is survived by her son David Alford (and his wife Kris), her son Randall Alford (and his wife Debra), her daughter Nancy Brumsted (and her husband Alan), and her son Philip Alford (and his wife Suzanne), as well as ten grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren.

A memorial service and reception are being planned for 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, October 29, 2022 at Rockland Community Church (off I-70, near Evergreen, Colorado). If you would like to make a memorial contribution in Ruth’s name, the family requests you make it to:
Rockland Community Church, 17 S. Mt. Vernon Country Club Road, Golden, Colorado 80401