Ruth C. Sandin

1929 - 2024

Ruth (Snide) Sandin Walter passed away peacefully in Chelsea, AL, at the home of her daughter and son-in-law, on May 16, 2024. She was 94.

Ruth was born July 26,1929 to Harold and Hazel (Brooks) Snide in Union Springs, NY. The family soon moved to Collegedale, TN, where her father taught in the history department at Southern Missionary College. Several years later, they moved again to Takoma Park, MD.

The fourth and youngest child in the family, little Ruthie was eager to measure up to her older siblings: Rollin, June, and Bonnie. A good student, Ruth completed high school by age 16. She attended Washington Missionary College (now Washington Adventist University), later following her sister Bonnie to North Carolina, where both enrolled in a nurses training course

It was at this time Ruth met and fell in love with a young soldier who was stationed at Fort Belvoir, VA. Donald Sandin was from Yakima, WA, so after he and Ruth married in 1953, he took her out west to meet his family. Don decided he wanted to attend college, so the newlyweds made their way south from Washington to Angwin, CA, where Don enrolled at Pacific Union College to become a teacher. The couple moved to Napa, CA in 1957. There they made their home together until the passing of Don in 2000. They had three children: Derek, Arni, and Scott.

Ruth worked as an R.N. at the St. Helena Sanitarium, Queen of the Valley Hospital, and the California Veterans Home in Yountville, CA. She retired in the early 1990's.

Ken Walter of Winslow, AR, and Ruth were married in 2007 at the Napa SDA Church. They loved to travel and enjoyed several cruises together. Ken and Ruth joined a camping club and motored across the country many times in a camper van with their dog and cat. They moved to the Napa Valley Adventist Retirement Estates in 2015 where they enjoyed the friendly neighbors and staff.

Among Ruth's favorite activities were puzzles and word games, sewing and quilting, traveling, playing the piano and organ, and hosting friends and family for delicious meals. Her pecan patties, persimmon pudding, and lemon meringue pie amazed everyone who sampled them.

In her last years, with Ken being cared for by his daughter in Arkansas, Ruth moved to live with family in Alabama. She is survived by her children, Derek Sandin of Grants Pass, OR; Arni (Scott) Johnson of Chelsea, AL; and Scott (Linda) Sandin of Angwin, CA. Also, grandchildren Nicholas (Sharon) Johnson, Kelly Johnson, and Summer Johnson, and great-granddaughters Samantha Johnson and Paige Johnson.

There will be no public memorial. Ruth will be interred next to her husband of 47 years, Don Sandin, at Terrace Heights Memorial Park in Yakima, WA.