Obituary of Ruth Estrada Texeira, 86 

– Ruth Estrada Texeira was born Myrtle Ruth Estrada, on Oct. 21, 1937, in Atascadero, California. Ruth passed away on Friday, March 22. Ruth was the fifth of seven children born to Sam Estrada and Edith Dodd. Estrada family roots dig deep into the history of central California as it passed from Spanish to Mexican to American rule. Ruth was the great-granddaughter of Don Joaquin Estrada, who obtained the Santa Margarita Ranch from the original Spanish land grant in 1841 when he was 26 years old. She and her family have long been members of the Atascadero Community – while her siblings, David, Paul, Evelyn, and Al, were all born at home; Ruth, Janet, and Kenny were born in the old Atascadero Hospital.

Ruth’s father Sam was an amazing man, he lost an arm when he was 16 years old in a hunting accident. Despite that, he worked 29 years for the Santa Margarita School system and as a house painter for many years. He raised a family of seven, converted the old Dance Hall on the corner of H and Encina Streets in Santa Margarita into a home for his family, and pitched for the local town baseball team. Ruth’s early life was centered around the home her father built there on H Street. During WWll she remembers the troop trains, the blackouts when the electric company would come and turn out the town’s lights, and the flags with a star hanging in the windows of the families with members serving in the war. She remembers when the war ended her Mother helping her father scrape the black paint off of the auditorium windows in the Santa Margarita School. The windows had been painted black to enable nighttime events during the war.

Ruth attended school in Santa Margarita and Atascadero, and she celebrated her faith at St Williams Catholic Church. In 1966 she met and married John Texeira, the love of her life (whom she married in the St Williams Catholic Church). Together they had 57 wonderful years of marriage, and John describes her as the sunshine of his life and the best thing that ever happened to him. Together they welcomed a daughter, Karen born a year and one day after the wedding. Ruth and John lived most of their married life in Atascadero and Paso Robles. Ruth was a homemaker who enjoyed traveling, gardening, and the quiet home life.

She is survived by her daughter Karen, grandson Nyle Ketcherside, granddaughters Taylor Leonard, Shannon Sobey; great granddaughter Hazel Leyva; and further survived by her sister Janet Gobbel.

In accordance with Ruth’s wish after her cremation, she will be laid to rest in Atascadero District Cemetery, in a Catholic Burial. Services are to be scheduled soon.

The Paso Robles Daily News accepts and publishes local obituaries and death notices free of charge from individuals and local funeral homes. See information and tips here on writing an obituary. Please submit the obituary a few days before services, if possible. To submit an obituary, please email it to skye@accesspublishing.com with “obituary” in the subject line. Please email a photo along with the obituary.