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Obituary

Ruth Ellen Holland passed away on December 25, 2025, after a long illness. Ruth Ellen loved the Lord, her family, and taking care of the people around her.

She was born July 23, 1944, in Kilsyth, West Virginia, to the late James and Thelma Hughes. She grew up in Oak Hill, West Virginia, and at 18 moved to Detroit, Michigan, where she worked at Kresge and Company. A year later, she met Dennis (the love of her life) at a baseball game. Their first date was Mary Poppins at the Fox Theatre. They married in 1965 and spent their lives side-by-side until Dennis passed away in 2021.

Ruth Ellen’s life was rooted in family and service. She raised her three daughters, Denise, Aimee, and Janeen, and poured herself into caring for others, helping at church, and making sure the people she loved were taken care of.

If Ruth Ellen needed something, she could make it. There wasn’t much she couldn’t recreate or sew; she was self-taught and unbelievably talented. She restored and upholstered furniture, ran a daycare, could run a busy kitchen, and handled whatever life put in front of her. She was steady, capable, and always doing for others.

Travel mattered to her, especially as a family. She loved taking her kids and grandkids to museums, concerts, amusement parks, historical landmarks, and most importantly, to visit family. Being together was everything.

If you had to describe Ruth Ellen in one word, it would be caregiver.

Ruth Ellen is survived by her three daughters: Denise (Jim) of Gladwin, Michigan; Aimee (Carl) of Riverview, Michigan; and Janeen (Rob) of Brownstown, Michigan. She is also survived by her siblings James T. Hughes (Julie) of Mechanicsville, Maryland; Robert Ratliff of Oak Hill, West Virginia; Darrell Ratliff (Janet) and Diana Wise of Chillicothe, Ohio; her dear sister-in-law Patsy Wilde of St. Augustine, Florida; her special grandchildren Alex Woody, Emily Wyniemko, AJ Abar, and Jillian Wyniemko; and her beloved pup, Molly.

Along with her parents, Ruth Ellen was preceded in death by her husband, Dennis Holland, and her siblings Susan Hughes and Kenneth Ratliff.