Ruby Jeanne Rukavina, 66, of Weippe, passed away in the early morning hours Monday, May 9, 2022, at Clearwater Valley Hospital in Orofino after a very courageous two-year battle against lung cancer and COPD.
Ruby was born Feb. 29, 1956, in Orofino to Chauncy and Glenna Gibbs. She was the third of nine children. She attended Orofino Elementary, Junior High and High School.
After high school, Ruby worked in Pendleton, Ore., where she worked in nursing homes and later as a maintenance worker at Pendleton High School. She left Pendleton to be with the love of her life, Michael “Mick” Jay Rukavina, in Weippe. After nine years together, they decided to make it official and married in Orofino on Dec. 21, 2006. An earlier marriage to Ted Ost ended in divorce after 20 years.
After moving to Weippe, Ruby worked for loggers as a flagger and became a certified scaler. Mick was a log truck driver and owned 160 acres of land when he and Ruby met. Together, they had horses, goats, cattle, dogs and cats. After a while, Ruby stopped working away from home and took care of the ranch. She was an avid horse woman and helped in teaching kids in the 4-H program about horses and riding and took them on trail rides with her sister, Helen. Ruby was a Ring Steward, assisting the official show judge, at local horse shows for many years.
Animals were Ruby’s passion and she loved them all. She named each and every one of the cattle and they all came running when they heard her voice. The animals loved her as much as she loved them. She fed and took care of the animals while Mick worked long hours with his logging truck. On the weekends, they worked on ranch projects together. She wasn’t afraid of work and as small as she was, she could buck bales of hay right alongside the others. She ran the tractors, helped with the fertilizing, weed spraying, haying, birthed calves, and anything else that needed done around the ranch. In addition, she took care of the house, made Mick’s lunch every day and had a nice dinner waiting for him when he got home after a long day. As hard as the work on the ranch was, Ruby loved living there and taking care of the animals.
Ruby loved camping and fishing, hosting large holiday and family dinners and everyone was invited. Mick and Ruby hosted many Gibbs family reunions on the ranch during their 25 years together. She had many friends and loved to connect with them on Facebook. Since the COVID-19 outbreak, she was unable to see her family and friends in person because she could not take the chance of further compromising her health. She has missed her son and all of her family and friends greatly since she became ill, and especially missed having the last reunion at their ranch. Rest assured, she missed all of you and spoke of you often.
Ruby did so much for so many. She loved having her niece Savannah Cox and her daughter, Abigail, live with her and Mick. Actually, Savannah is a cousin, but Ruby upgraded her to niece and both Ruby and Mick have treated her as if she was their daughter. Savannah has been a great help to both Ruby and Mick during the past few years as Ruby’s health declined. Ruby told me many times she didn’t know what she and Mick would have done without Savannah’s help during the last few years.
Ruby was preceded in death by her parents, Chauncy and Glenna Gibbs, and two brothers, Pertle Gibbs and Daniel Gibbs. She is survived by her son, Chauncy Gibbs, of Seattle, Chris Rukavina, of Weippe, and Mickayla Rukavina Lyons, of Centralia, Wash., siblings Bonita Hudson, of Orofino, Helen Gibbs Anderson, of Grangemont, Rose Gibbs, of Pierce, Charles Gibbs, of Lewiston, Bill Gibbs, of Pierce, and Walter Gibbs, of Orofino.
A celebration of life will be scheduled at a later date. Cards may be sent to Mick Rukavina at P.O. Box 6 Weippe, ID 83553. Donations may be made on behalf of Ruby Rukavina to St. Joseph Regional Cancer Center and Blood Institute, 1250 Idaho St., Lewiston.
