Ruth Alaspa

Ruth W. Alaspa, 96, an Arizona native and retired Casa Grande teacher, died on Nov. 17, 2012, at Family Tree Assisted Living.
Mrs. Alaspa was born on May 26, 1916, in Douglas, four years after Arizona became a state, and was a daughter of Lawrence and Lucy McDaniel. Also known as Ruthie, she grew up in the copper mining town of Morenci, where her father was a smelter superintendent. She graduated from the University of Arizona in 1937 and married Walter B. Love II soon after. He died in 1949 and she went back to school before becoming a teacher in Casa Grande. She taught second grade at different sites before retiring in 1981 after 32 years. She married high school teacher Hugh W. Alaspa in the late 1950s. He died in 1972.
She had many friends in Casa Grande and Pinetop-Lakeside and was described as a "people person." Once when hospitalized in Phoenix after a car accident, she received so many cards that hospital personnel called her a "rock star." She liked to play cards and golf when she was able and loved to fish and party whenever she was invited.
Survivors include two sons, John Love of Nevada and Walter B. Love of Tucson; a daughter, Margot Thomas of Colorado; six grandchildren; and nine great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her husbands and a brother and sister, John McDaniel and Margaret Gates.
She requested no memorial service, but her family may later decide on a reception in her honor.
Contributions may be made in Mrs. Alaspa's name to a breast cancer charity.
J. Warren Funeral Services, Cole & Maud The Gardens Chapel is in charge of arrangements.