Ruth's first job was at Kresses, Pomona, CA; later, she was employed by Metropolitan Life Insurance Co., Pomona office.

Ruth's maternal grandparents were pioneers in the Pomona Valley. ‏(Her grandfather was born in Denmark.)‏ They came to Pomona before 1889; Ruth's mother, Mabel C. ‏(Hansen)‏ Nixon was born in Pomona in 1889.

Ron Snow lived next to Ruth's aunt and uncle, her mom's oldest sister Annie Cappers. Ron used to play on the Cappers old covered wagon when he was young. Ruth remembers that her aunt and uncle said they used that covered wagon to go to Yosemite in about 1914; it was a several months' trip for them.