Alice Ruth Parmenter

Alice Ruth Parmenter passed away peacefully on May 28, 2014 at the Sierra Blanca Nursing Center in Lakeside, Arizona. She was 104 years old. Alice was born on September 17, 1909 in Hurley, South Dakota to George Sylvester and Eva Matilda (Dehmen) Ruth. She was blessed with 4 sisters: Isabell, Ellen, Mary, Emma Jean; 2 brothers Vincent and Bernard. When Alice was 6 years old, the Ruth family moved to Tranto, Montana, where her father homesteaded 160 acres for ranching. Alice grew up with wagons, horses and other animals. She graduated from a small high school in Ft. Benton near the ranch. Shortly after graduating high school, Alice taught for 4 years in a small grade school in Loma, Montana. She loved teaching and also volunteered to serve as a nurse in a catholic hospital and followed nursing for several years. She was proud to be a teacher and a nurse throughout her long life and loved to serve others. At age 20, Alice met and married Ben Parmenter. The couple eventually moved to the White Mountains in Show Low, Arizona. She and Ben built and operated the Twin Oaks Observatory until his death. Alice then donated the observatory to a college in Colorado and was also able to endow a student scholarship. She loved to travel. She and Ben had traveled to every state with the exception of Alasak and Hawaii. Alice was a longtime member of St. Rita's Catholic Church. She knitted and crocheted many things that she donated for the annual bazaar. Alice is survived by 2 sisters: Mary of Seattle, Washington, Emma Jean of Columbia Falls, Montana as well as several nieces and nephews. Private services will be held at the Spokane Memorial Gardens in Spokane, Washington where she will be laid to rest alongside her husband, Ben.