Ruth Durstein Hoch
The Philadelphia Eagles lost one of their greatest fans on Saturday, June 6, when Ruth D. Hoch passed away at the age of 90 years. Ruth will be missed by her many nieces and nephews, her brother Dick, in Raleigh, North Carolina, and her many friends in the Smyrna area.
Ruth was the third child of Ralph K. Durstein, Sr. and Helen C. Durstein, born on September 8, 1929. In addition to her surviving brother Dick, her older brother Ralph Jr. passed away in 1968. Ruth grew up in Wilmington, and attended P.S. Dupont High School and graduated from the University of Delaware. She married Charles I. Hoch in 1957. Dr. Hoch maintained a dental practice in Middletown, Delaware, before retiring to a farm outside Smyrna, where the couple raised and raced standardbred horses. After Dr. Hoch’s death, Ruth moved to Garrison’s Lake. Ruth had no children, but enjoyed her thirteen nieces and nephews, and her many grand nieces and grand nephews and great grand nephews, and was grateful they were a part of her life, just as they loved including her in their lives.
Throughout her life, Ruth volunteered for the Smyrna Public Library, Bombay Hook Wildlife Refuge, the Delaware Agricultural Museum, Meals on Wheels, the Modern Maturity Center, and the LPGA tournament at the Dupont Country Club to benefit Ronald McDonald House. She was an elder and a deacon of the First Presbyterian Church of Smyrna. Ruth was an avid bridge player and a member of several bridge clubs. She also loved her Young at Heart friends in her exercise classes.
The family plans a private burial service at the Lower Brandywine Cemetery in Centerville, Delaware and expects to hold a memorial service celebrating Ruth’s life at the First Presbyterian Church in Smyrna at a future time.
In lieu of flowers, the family would suggest donations to any of the organizations listed above, in Ruth’s name. Life End Services by Michael J. Ambruso Funeral Director, Inc. Dover. Friends may share memories and condolences at www.ambruso.com