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Ruby Maberley Obituary

Ruby Maberley
August 26, 1930 - July 27, 2022
Ruby Elsie Ada Maberley passed away peacefully on July 27 in San Francisco of natural causes after a brief illness. She would have been 92 on August 26th.
Ruby was born in London, England in 1930 to Ruby Olive Vincent and William Edward Williams. Ruby and her younger brother Billy survived the London Blitz as children with their mother, Ruby Sr. This experience cemented their relationships for life. London was bombed for 57 consecutive nights and sometimes during the day. Ruby and family were bombed out of two homes, emerging from sheltering in tube stations to find their homes and neighborhood destroyed in the morning. At the time Ruby and Billy's father served as a Grenadier Guardsman in the British Eighth Army in North Africa and Egypt.
The year after World War Two ended another brother, Ronnie, was born. In many ways, due to the age gap, Ruby was Ronnie's second "mum" as well as a loving big sister. They remained close her whole life, even though they lived many miles apart. Ruby went to work as a salesperson at Dolcis shoes in post-war Britain, where opportunities were limited. She eventually met the love of her life, Ron, who was the manager of her store. Ron and Ruby were married in the Coronation Year, 1953. Their only child, Mark, was born in 1954. Mark grew up to graduate from Cal Berkeley and UCSF, which made Ruby very proud since her education was so limited. She was pleased to when he became the family dentist because going to the dentist was probably her least-liked experience. Both Ruby and Ron were very proud when Mark married Kristin in 1982, the year Mark graduated as a dentist
In November, 1965, Ron, Ruby and Mark immigrated to the United States. They spent a year in New York City, where Ron worked on Madison Avenue. Almost exactly a year later they relocated to San Francisco, where they all lived until Ron passed in 2007. Ruby ran a clothing consignment store with a friend on Polk Street in SF for a while. She was always involved in the lives of her two grandchildren and then later her three grandchildren, all of whom lived closed by. Ruby was well loved by family in San Francisco and England. In 2013, Ruby moved into her own apartment in San Francisco, in the form of independent living at Cypress Golden Gate. Ruby was very active in the Cypress community and gained the respect and love of the staff and residents over the years. Her warm smile, caring nature and humor lives on in people's hearts. She was still making people laugh shortly before she passed.
Ruby loved anything cat-related and anything English. She collected items that reflected her interest in both. She kept her London accent her whole life to the point where, when introduced to people in the US, they would often ask how long she would be staying on vacation.
Ruby is survived by her son Mark and daughter-in-law Kristin, brother Ronnie (Jo), grandson Ian, granddaughter Ursula (Dylan), and great-grandchildren Callie, Isabelle and Thomas Tumath, as well as nieces and nephews too numerous to mention. Great nieces include a namesake, "mini- Ruby" Maberley, 20 years old, in Sussex, England.
The family would like to extend heartfelt thanks to all the wonderful staff and residents at Cypress (now Ivy), who were Ruby's second family. Thanks also to the people of Suncrest Hospice, for their kind attention to Ruby's needs and support for the family in Ruby's last weeks.
In honor of Ruby's request there will be no service. If desired, memorial contributions may be made to a charity or organization of your choice.

To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.

Published by San Francisco Chronicle on Aug. 6, 2022.

Memories and Condolences
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4 Entries

Lulu Carpenter

April 25, 2023

My family all loved the lovely and vivacious Ruby, and she was such a good friend to my father, Harry, during the Vintage-Cypress years. So sorry to hear of her 2022 passing. My sincere condolences.

Lorna Escobar

August 26, 2022

Mark, so sorry to hear about your mom's passing. Called her today for her birthday and found she had gone to be with Ron. She and my mother Gerry were very dear friends. We enjoyed many laughs and luncheons over the years. May God bless you and your family who she loved dearly. Condolences from my family to yours.

Elise Stupi

August 20, 2022

My sincerest and most heartfelt condolences to Dr. Maberley and the entire family. Your Mum Ruby sounded like such a wonderful woman who lived a long, happy, and adventurous life and raised an equally wonderful son. May she rest peacefully and may her memory be a blessing to all who knew her. My thoughts and prayers are with you.

Mary Anne Courtney

August 14, 2022

Ruby was a friend of my mother's (Ellen Courtney) back when Cypress was Vintage. Ruby was delightful, friendly and stayed in touch with me after my mother died (2015). Thinking of her makes me smile.

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