Ruth Joan Watach, 87, of Oak Harbor, died Jan. 13, 2007 in Oak Harbor. She was born in Winnipeg, Canada, on July 8, 1919, to William Henry and Ethel Rose (Winslow) Hoover.

She was the fourth of five children. When she was a child, the family moved to Vancouver, B.C. After graduating from high school, and while attending college, Ruth worked as a bookkeeper at the lumber company her father owned.

In 1939 she married Samuel Peluso and they had one daughter, Gail, before moving to Seattle where they had a son, Richard. They moved again, this time to San Pedro, Calif., where their second son, Michael, was born. Moving back to Canada she gave birth to their fourth child, Wayne “Joe” Peluso. Ruth and Samuel later divorced.

In 1948, she married Paul Lagasse, and together they had a son Mark.

All this time, while traveling and raising children, Ruth was a homemaker, but held various dry cleaning and factory jobs.

She married George Briere in 1966, and after his passing in 1978, she then married Charles Watach in 1986.

Ruth loved to travel, and was an avid adventurer and risk-taker. When someone said, “let’s go,” she went. She lived in California and Oregon with George, where they built their own home and raised their own vegetables. She lived in Connecticut where she also had a farm, raising chickens and pigs. She also had the opportunity to be a homesteader in the state of Alaska. When she wasn’t moving Ruth enjoyed doing crossword puzzles and watching Wheel of Fortune. At one time she even united her fourth husband, Charles, with his long-lost children on a nationally-aired television program. A member of Whidbey Island Genealogical Society (WIGS), she was good-hearted by nature, and welcomed all into her heart and home. She was a truly caring person and was always there for her friends and family in times of need.

She is survived by her children Gail Steinmetz of Rodondo Beach, Calif., Richard and his wife Nancy of Butte, Mont., Michael and his wife Jimelle of Van Nuys, Calif., and Mark and his wife Debbie of Oak Harbor; six grandchildren; and ten great-grandchildren.

She was preceded in death by four husbands and one son, Wayne “Joe” Peluso; her parents; and her siblings Bill, Doris, Louise and Bob.

A celebration of her life will be held at a later date.

Funeral arrangements are entrusted to Burley Funeral Chapel of Oak Harbor.