Ruth (Hoge) List

Obituary

Ruth Hoge List, 90, of Columbus, Ohio, passed away peacefully on October 16, 2026.

Ruth was born on February 6, 1936, in New Knoxville, Ohio, to Gustave and Mary Hoge. She came into the world during the Great Depression and grew up through the hardships of World War II. Over her lifetime she lived through the Cold War, many conflicts around the world, and pandemics from the polio years of her youth to COVID-19 in her later years. Those times taught her the value of hard work, and she believed in it with her whole heart. That conviction shaped everything she did and everyone she touched.

Ruth attended Miami University and went on to graduate from The Ohio State University as a registered nurse. Her love of learning kept growing, and she later earned a master's degree in education. It was in the classroom that she found her true calling.

Ruth's real passion was alternative education. At the elementary level, she poured her heart into teaching children to think creatively and to solve problems for themselves. She devoted herself especially to underprivileged children, giving them tools and confidence that would serve them long after they left her care. Her legacy lives on in the curious minds she helped open.

Ruth now joins her beloved husband of 59 years, Don A. List, who passed in 2016. She was also preceded in death by her parents, Gustave and Mary Hoge; her brothers, Carl and Ned Hoge; and her sister, Mary Anne Hirschfeld.

She is survived by her son, Blair A. List (Christy); her daughter, Danah Nichols; her grandchildren, Kara Cruikshank (Collin), Callie Usner (Kyle), Andersen, and Keaton Nichols; her great-grandchildren, Callum and Coleson Cruikshank; and her brother, Robert Hoge.

A celebration of Ruth's life will be held on Saturday, November 21, 2026, from 10:00 a.m. to noon at New Albany Presbyterian Church, 5885 E. Dublin-Granville Road, New Albany, Ohio.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made in Ruth's memory to the Alzheimer's Association.

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