For such a small person, Ruby King looms large in Morgan Hill. A
lifetime of goodwill from years of volunteering plus 44 years of
handling students, teachers and school administrators with ease
have earned her the title of 2005 Chamber of Commerce Woman of the
Year.
For such a small person, Ruby King looms large in Morgan Hill.
A lifetime of goodwill from years of volunteering plus 44 years of handling students, teachers and school administrators with ease have earned her the title of 2005 Chamber of Commerce Woman of the Year.
“I was shocked when I came home and found flowers (from the Chamber) on my front porch,” King, 74, said Tuesday. “There are so many people in this town who deserve it more than I do.”
Apparently opinions differed because the list of people from a multitude of organizations who signed King’s nominating form was long.
Her oldest friend, retired Live Oak teacher John Soares, was pleased to hear the news.
“I thought it was great that Ruby was chosen Woman of Year,” Soares said. “At meetings (they both attended) she was always there and always involved.”
Each year the Chamber of Commerce gives Showcase Awards to outstanding members of the community, in the categories of man, woman, business, teacher and Chamber volunteer. No student of the year award was given because no nominations were forthcoming from the high school, according to Chris Giusiana of the Chamber.
The awards are given to people who have displayed outstanding and unselfish service to the community through a long history of service, civic involvement and leadership.
King retired from the Morgan Hill School District after serving as secretary, first at Live Oak High School, when it was still downtown on Monterey Road (the Britton Middle School site), then as secretary to the superintendent. She has been volunteering for so long she has forgotten how it began, or where.
“I can’t remember what was first,” King said.
She has been a long time mainstay at the Historical Society, organizing the November Holiday Boutique with her friend, Ginny Grimsich – a huge job the pair has tackled for 10 years.
“Ginny and I work well together,” she said.
And she has been secretary to the board of directors for several years, taking the vacant job that looked as if it would remain vacant.
Former board member, Janie Knopf, has known King for a long, long time talked her into the secretary’s job.
“Ruby was a lifesaver,” said Knopf. “Not only is Ruby a wonderful person and delightful to be around, she is efficient and accurate even though she won’t buy a computer.”
King’s computer-avoidance is a running joke on the board but, with the help of board presidents, she gets the minutes out.
King volunteered at Saint Louise Hospital after she retired until it closed in 1999, helps the Flower Lovers Club with their shows, works with the Live Oak Foundation, the Retired Public Employees Association, the Morgan Hill Grange, Women In Touch, Over 50’s Club and is a former member of the Kiwanis Club. King volunteers for Reachout at St. Catherine’s Church and other charitable organizations.
John Soares is actually King’s oldest friend from before Morgan Hill. Born in Arkansas, King moved with her family to Sunnyvale in 1942 when she was 12-years-old, then to Santa Clara for high school. She met Soares, when he was student teaching at Santa Clara High School.
Soares said he finished student teaching at Easter, then began as a full-time teacher at Live Oak High School, the day after Easter, where he got a surprise. He wasn’t the only one to move in 1946.
“Who should show up in class but Ruby Meeks,” Soares said. “We’ve been friends ever since.”
King graduated from Live Oak in 1949 with 52 classmates, far fewer than today’s graduating classes. She accepted a job as secretary for the school and for George Pine, the principal/superintendent. Before unification with the elementary districts in 1966, the high school was on its own. After unification, King moved to the district offices and continued to act as secretary to the superintendent.
“She was a marvelous person to have on the staff,” Soares said. “She knew more about what was going on than the superintendent did.”
King explained why.
“It was very small and I knew everybody, not just the students but their parents too,” she said.
Soares continued to teach art, English, history and drama for 35 years; his wife, Madge, was City Clerk for 22 years.
King has lived in the same house on Live Oak Avenue for 50 years, where she moved with her husband, Art Ferranti, a Morgan Hill native who died much too young, she said.
The couple’s two daughters, Jackie, who lives in San Jose, and Cindy, in Tustin, provided King with six grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. They keep her busy and entertained and – since Tustin is beyond Los Angeles – traveling.
King made her mark in the district and carried the same dedication to volunteering.
“I have no plans to give it up,” King said.
The Showcase Awards dinner will be held Saturday, Jan. 22, at the Community Center, 17000 Monterey Road at East Dunne Avenue. Tickets are $79 each. Reservations, deadline Friday, Jan. 14, 779-9444.
Carol Holzgrafe covers City Hall for The Times. She can be reached by e-mail at ch********@*************es.com or phoning (408) 779-4106 Ext. 201.
