Alita Ann Ruark

Alita Ann Ruark, our beloved mother, grandmother, sister, aunt and friend, passed away on Saturday, September 16, 2013, at the age of 79 at Caring For Loved Ones Assisted Living in Scottsdale, Arizona. She was born in Westover, Maryland on September 9th, 1934, to Sarah Augusta and Hiram Embrose Ream. She lived a full life with many passions and immense love for her close family. Alita lived most of her life in Marion Station, Maryland. She met her husband, Horace Frank Ruark, and they had two children, Lorieta and Alden. Horace passed away suddenly in 1997. In her later years, she moved to Scottsdale, Arizona. In 1969, Alita, at the age of 34, was rushed to the hospital with an unknown illness. For approximately twelve years, she searched for answers and a diagnosis for her life-threatening illness. Her sister, Geraldine, was an invaluable source of help and support in those early years of searching for answers, and afterwards was a ready source of encouragement. After innumerable tests, she was diagnosed with systemic mastocytosis. She persevered bravely with this illness for the remainder of her years, with family support from her son Alden, and her daughter-in-law, Connie and their family, as well as a period of time with her daughter Lorieta, and her son-in-law, Robert, and their family. Alita enjoyed her life for the fullest, and few things gave her greater pleasure than creating something for a person she loved. She was a self-taught watercolor artist, and throughout her life she would make paintings that she gave to friends and family as a sign of her love and gratitude. She was very active in her church, and loved working with children. She even made puppets and had theater shows for children to teach them of God's love. She spent her last days making items for her family and friends, and was known for writing poems and giving notes to the wonderful hospital staff that helped care for her. Alita had a beautiful soul, and made an impact on the life of everyone she met. We will always remember her strength, her courage, her generosity, and her tremendous love for all of us. Among the many family and friends who she loved in life, she is survived by her sisters: Geraldine and her husband Donald, and Gretna and her husband Richard; her children: Lorieta and her husband Robert, Alden and his wife Connie; her grandchildren: Samantha Kara and her husband Paul, Matthew and Jordan; and her nieces and nephews, Daphne and her husband, Patrick, Richard and his wife, Elaine, Clark and his wife, Denise, and Krista and her husband, Chris. In Heaven, she joins her husband, Horace Ruark; her mother, Sarah Augusta, and her father, Hiram Embrose; her brother, Harry Webster, and her nephew, Merle Brittingham. Special thanks to the staff at John Hopkins, Mayo Clinic of Arizona, and Caring For Love Ones Assisted Living, for their support throughout the years, and for helping Alita through the difficulty of her illness. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in her memory to the Evangelical Wesleyan Church of Crisfield, 22 East Chesapeake Avenue, Crisfield, MD, 21817.