Ruth Kroon

Ruth Kroon age 93, of Centennial CO passed away Friday, February 2, 2024 after a long illness. She was born December 4, 1930 to Cornelius and Trina (Meima) Belanus in Saddle River, NJ. She was the fourth of 6 siblings.

She is survived by her husband of 68 years Edwin (Ed) H. Kroon of Centennial; siblings Florence Degelman of Wyckoff, NJ, and Neil Belanus of Raleigh, NC; and children Suanne (Eric) Sittner of Centennial, Karen Kroon of Cheyenne WY and Laura (Bruce) Millar of Essex Junction VT. She is also survived by six grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

Ruth graduated from high school at Eastern Christian Academy in Patterson, NJ in 1948 and worked for a year to earn money for college. In 1949 she headed to Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan. It was there she met Ed Kroon in a Psychology class and choir. She completed her Bachelor of Arts Degree in Education in 1953 and she began teaching fourth grade.

Ed and Ruth married June 24, 1955 in Midland Park, NJ. She continued to teach while he completed his final year of medical school. In 1956 they started six years of traveling for his medical internship, residency training and army service. This started in Denver, CO, where Suanne was born. Then moving to Ann Arbor, MI, where Karen and Laura were born. This was followed by Fort Huachuca, AZ and Fort Ord, CA. They finally settled down in Denver, CO where Ed worked at Bethesda Hospital and Ruth cared for her family and volunteered with their church and hospital auxiliary.

As the family grew, Ruth was able to return to her love of teaching. She obtained her teaching license in Colorado and specialized in early childhood education. She joined with friends who volunteered in the inner city and created early childhood learning environments for at risk children. She taught kindergarten for many years and was the director of several pre-school programs. She retired when Ed embarked on a new career serving as a locum tenum psychiatrist all around the country and world. They explored different parts of the world together, enjoying the beautiful scenery and nature, and making friends everywhere.

Ruth was a self-taught pianist and singer. She had the mixed blessing of "perfect pitch" and could play anything she heard sung. When their church expanded into its own building and needed an organist, she took lessons and played the organ there for several years. She also played the organ or sang in the choir at other churches they attended, as needed.

One of the things Ruth enjoyed the most was time in the outdoors. She and Ed went up to the mountains, alone and with family and friends as much as possible. All visiting family members or friends were taken on the Berthoud Pass through Trail Ridge/Estes Park loop. They enjoyed hiking and started camping in a tent and over the years moved up to a tent trailer and eventually bought a condo in Grand Lake. As Ed gradually retired, they split their time between Grand Lake, CO and Green Valley, AZ. In 2016 they returned to Centennial, CO to be nearer to family and friends.