Ruth Grunas Grant

Ruth Grunas Grant, veteran, realtor, artist, explorer and resident of Tumwater, WA passed away peacefully at the Regency Olympia Rehabilitation Center on August 13, 2024, at 92 years of age.  Being a trailblazer and non-conformist was the hallmark of her life. 

Born into a working-class family in Detroit, Michigan in August of 1931, Ruth was the youngest of five children of Frank and Mary Grunas.  She grew up during the Great Depression when times were challenging for many Americans.  Ruth’s father was a skilled mechanic and machinist and often bartered his skills repairing tractors and equipment for local farmers in exchange for produce for the family.  Young Ruth had a tomboy streak and liked to play in the dirt – to the chagrin of her mother who would chastise her for getting her dresses dirty.  Growing up she had a passion for ice skating and competitive swimming.  Winters would find her skating on frozen ponds and lakes and in the summers she competed in swimming events, winning multiple awards, and worked as a lifeguard at a local swimming pool. 

Ruth attended Southwestern High School in Detroit and graduated in June 1949.  After high school, rather than getting married and settling down to raise a family as most women did at that time, Ruth joined the U.S. Army, again upsetting her parents with her nonconformist ways.  Ruth served four years on active duty in the Army in several stateside assignments and one overseas assignment in Germany.  She was honorably discharged with the rank of Sergeant in 1953. 

After leaving Army active duty, Ruth used her G.I. Bill benefits to attend Wayne State University in Michigan where she earned a degree in Fine Art, while working full time and still serving in the Army Reserve.  In total, Ruth served an additional ten years in Army and Air Force Reserve units.  As an artist, she excelled in painting, sculpture and stained glass. Additionally, she enjoyed sewing, was always on the hunt for interesting fabrics, and made most of her own clothing.

After obtaining her college degree, her wanderlust re-surfaced and she became a U.S. Army Special Services Civil Servant and requested overseas assignment.  Special Services were uniformed personnel responsible for operating and managing the U.S. Army service club system.  In this role she again served a tour in Germany and later in Japan.  She was the program director of the Officers Club at Camp Zama, Japan, when she met her future husband, Army Major Myles Grant.

In March 1963 she married Myles in a simple ceremony at Camp Zama, Japan.  In October 1963 her first son, Myles “Mike” Grant, was born.  In 1965 the family moved to Fort Bragg (now Fort Liberty), NC, where her second son, George Grant (now Revel Grant) was born in November 1966.  In 1967 her husband got orders to join the fight in Vietnam, and in June 1967 she moved with her two sons, Mike and George, to Dearborn, Michigan to be closer to family while her husband was deployed. In late 1968, she and her sons made the journey by train across the U.S. to Lake Oswego, OR to link up with her husband and prepare for their next duty assignment in Germany.  In September 1968 the family moved to Heidelberg, Germany, living in the Mark Twain Village American housing area.  In March 1970, she moved with her two sons back to the United Stated to purchase a home for the family in Oregon in advance of her husband’s retirement.

Ruth purchased a home for the family in West Linn, OR in September 1970.  In 1973, Ruth obtained her Real Estate License and began selling real estate for Tarbell Relators.  She was an accomplished salesperson, winning multiple million-dollar listing awards.  She earned her broker’s license and within two years she was the managing broker of the Tarbell Real Estate Office in West Linn.  In 1976 she divided the family’s West Linn property into five building lots and began building houses on them for rental income.  In 1978 she and her husband parted ways.  In 1982 she decided to go into business for herself and she started her own real estate company, but a poor economy caused the business to fail. She regrouped by putting her artistic skills to use creating castings for aircraft parts at a company called Precision Castparts.  She worked at Precision Castparts for about twelve years.  In 1994 she retired from Precision Castparts and sold her West Linn properties in order to purchase a dormant 100-acre farm near the town of Clinton in her home state of Michigan.

For two decades she lived on and worked her 100 acres, being visited occasionally by the Ferwerda family on a neighboring farm, her older brother, Vince, and her son Mike and grandson Brian who would make an annual two week visit with her every summer.  In 2013 she sold her Michigan farm and moved to Tumwater, WA to be closer to her son Mike and grandson Brian.  In Tumwater she lived a retired life, enjoying Thanksgivings at her son’s home, watching her grandson perform in plays and socializing at the local senior center.

She is survived by her two sons, Mike and Revel Grant, grandson Brian Grant, and many nieces and nephews.

An informal family memorial gathering and inurnment of Ruth’s remains will be held at the Holy Sepulcher Cemetery in Southfield, Michigan at a date to be determined.