John Henry Van Ruiten

John Henry Van Ruiten, Jr., 96, a resident of Bellflower, CA, passed away at peace on June 10, 2020.

John was born in Montebello, CA in 1923 to Dutch immigrant parents, John and Katie (Schweitz) Van Ruiten. He grew up working on the family dairy farm and graduated from Whittier High School in 1942. John joined the U.S. Navy right out of high school and served in the South Pacific during World War II. Following the death of his father, he was honorably discharged and returned home to be with his mother and family. This provided John the opportunity of a lifetime, meeting and marrying Patricia (Pat), the love of his life, in February 1947.

John was a father of three children and worked hard to ensure his family received the blessings of a solid Catholic education and firm foundation in faith. For most of his life he was known as a dairyman, milking cows, running a milk processing plant and operating several retail drive through dairy stores. John was well known as a “good egg” by customers and friends, especially when he operated his fresh egg delivery route throughout Los Angeles.

For most of John’s life, he was almost inseparable from his brother and best friend, Henry. John enjoyed time with family, especially cheering his children on in their various sports team activities. Sparked by a young dream of being a jockey, John was an avid fan of horse racing and had a great interest in sports, especially high school football and professional baseball. In his later years, he would still begin his day before the sun with a cup of coffee and a “couple” of cookies and greatly enjoyed his daily walks on the nearby Bellflower streets, cheerfully greeting and inspiring neighbors along the way.

John is lovingly remembered by his three children and their spouses, Michelle (Jim) Vasiloff, Chris (Sheryl) Van Ruiten and Laurie (Ken) Glenn and grandchildren Eric (Rosanne) Vasiloff, Sheraya (Massimo) Santella, Julia (Jesse) Mc Lennan and Garrett Van Ruiten, as well as numerous special cousins, nieces and nephews. John was preceded in death by his loving wife Pat and his siblings Mary and Henry.

The Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at St. Cyprian Catholic Church, 4715 Clark Ave., Long Beach, CA 90808 on Thursday, June 18, 2020 at 11 am.

Due to limitations on attendance at the Funeral Mass, service will be live streamed on YouTube at the following link beginning at 10:45am:

Link: https://youtu.be/YTV9heADBtk

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, TN 38105 or www.stjude.org .  Condolences for the family may be offered online at www.luybendilday.com or by mail

Luyben Dilday Mortuary (562) 425-6401