Ruth Zegular passed away peacefully on August 6, 2013 at the age of 94, after a brief stay at Suncoast Hospice in Pinellas Park, FL.
Ruth ‘Mickey’ Steinberger was born December 12, 1918 in Hoboken City (Union City), NJ, the daughter of the late Fred and Ruth (Watson) Steinberger. She always said her middle name was Augusta but on looking at her birth certificate last year, found that it said Augustine. She was a direct descendant of a number of Mayflower passengers on her mother’s side. She attended Emerson High School. She met her husband, Joseph James Maglione, in 1932. They married on August 30, 1942 in Union City, NJ.
During WWII, while Joe was serving in the Army Air Corps., she lived with her parents and worked for Callite Tungsten in Union City. She was a welder and then became foreman. She told of how, while working as a welder, she’d set her hair on fire and didn’t realize it until her coworkers started slapping her on top of her head. The only damage was singed hair.
After the war she & Joe moved to North Bergen, NJ. She was very active in her church (United Presbyterian) and was a Sunday School teacher and belonged to the Lamplighters. She was a past president of the F.O.E. womens auxiliary and a Cub Scout den mother. It was during this time that she accompanied her scouts to visit Boystown in the early 60’s. She became a life-long supporter and honorary member of Boystown from then on.
Full of boundless energy, she never did anything slowly, she lived her life to the fullest and always did it “Her Way”. She loved to dance and sing, but her singing was always a beat ahead of everyone else. She got her nickname, Mickey, as a small child because she was always singing a popular song of the time, Mickey, Pretty, Mickey. She loved to travel and saw much of the United States in her 94 years. She never wanted to travel outside of the states. She always said, “Why do that when there is so much to see in America?”
In 1984 she moved to Largo, FL. In her Mobile Village she joined the Shuffleboard team (best player 3 years in a row), the bowling team, craft club, played Bingo and was also her street rep. In 2006, she moved in with her daughter and son-in-law and joined the Red Hat Society. She didn’t slow down until age forced her to in 2011 at age 92.
She is predeceased by her parents; her husbands, Joseph Maglione, in 1962; Frank Zegular, in 1983; and her siblings, Evelyn Rose in 1926; Dorothy Powers in 2005; and Fred Steinberger in 2006.
She is survived by her loving children Meredith (Ladimer) Humel; Joseph (Susan) Maglione; step daughter Sharon (Andrew) Weilandt; grandchildren Annie ‘Kim’ (Matthew) Kaiser; Ladimer J Humel; sisters-in-law Kathleen Steinberger; Helen Davidson; Eileen Coviello; Eleanor Rich; and many cousins, nieces and nephews.
Cremation will be private. At a later date, per her request, her ashes will be scattered at Laurel Grove Cemetery Memorial Park in Totowa, NJ where her family is buried. Any who wish to can make a contribution in her name to the Suncoast Hospice Foundation at https://www.thehospicefoundation.org/
She has touched the lives of many and will be remembered for her kind heart and being a true “lady”. She will be dearly missed by loving family and friends.