RUTH AGNES NIENBERG, 1921-2025
Longtime Coronado Resident
Ruth Agnes Nienberg (Maas) was born August 24, 1921 in the small German town of Glandorf, Ohio, to William Peter Maas and Christine Katherine Hedges.
Her happiest moments were always with family. Her constant motto was “Family is Everything!” Ruth passed peacefully surrounded by family on November 5, 2025, in Alameda, CA at 104 years of age.
Ruth was the second youngest of six children. They lived and worked on a small farm raising crops and chickens. She met her future husband Commander Robert Nienberg (USN) when they attended grammar school in a one-room school house. They graduated high school together as co-valedictorians in a class of 12, in 1939.
Bob then entered college in Toledo and Ruth moved there also, taking a job in the accounting department of a local Steel Company. She was great at math and loved numbers. Ruth lived in Toledo with her sister, Theresa.
Ruth and Bob saw each other often during those days, but World War II began to interrupt lives everywhere. Bob enlisted in the U.S. Navy to become a naval aviator but was allowed to finish his college degree before having to report for training. Commander Nienberg ended up serving in WWII, Korea, and Vietnam during his 30 years in the Navy.
Ruth and Bob married in December, 1944. For the next three decades, Ruth was the quintessential Navy wife, raising four children and managing the family moves that occurred nearly every year as Bob received new orders and worked up the ranks. When asked how she managed a car full of children from one duty station to the other, she replied, “You make it an adventure.” And she was always able to do that, as her children happily recall.
Duty stations included Florida, Maine, Washington State, three cities in California (including Coronado 1964-1967), Hawaii, Rhode Island, and Washington D.C. before returning to Coronado in 1971. “Bob was a Navy pilot,” said Ruth. “Coronado was his last tour of duty, and when he said we were going to stay here in Coronado, we did just that.”
Ruth loved Coronado, and was happy to be close to her son Michael and his family, who lived nearby, and a short drive from her other son Jeff, and his family. Ruth lived at 810 G Avenue, in Coronado, for the next 47 years, until 2018, when she moved to Alameda to be near her daughter Janet and her other son, Mark. Ruth and Bob were married 66 years, until his passing in 2010.
After Bob’s retirement in 1973 the couple traveled extensively visiting Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Italy, and Japan. She particularly enjoyed a trip she took with her daughter Janet and her nephew Rob to England, France, Scotland and Ireland.
To further fill those retirement years, Ruth enjoyed working as a manager of Victorian Corners, a gift shop in the Hotel Del Coronado. She worked there for 15 years.
Ruth’s most loved hobbies included quilting, knitting, and sewing. She was very talented at each of them. Her quilts are now prized possessions of all her children and grandchildren. She also loved sports, and was a big Padres fan.
It wasn’t uncommon to find Ruth in her morning exercise classes five or six days a week. She would spend her afternoons doing puzzles or reading a good book. This was her treasured routine right up until her passing.
For all of her years she took great pride in her dedication to staying fit and healthy. Her mantra, “You Got to Keep Moving,” was chronicled in the Coronado Journal in an article about her activities at the Coronado Fitness Club where she generally went three or more times a week to work out for many years. At 97 years old she was the envy of all the club attendees and the personal trainers.
In her last years, when asked her secrets to a long and healthy life, she would smile and joke that a weak gin & tonic most evenings can help, but most importantly, you should live by the philosophies that you have to “Keep Moving,” and ‘Family is Everything!”
Ruth is survived by her sons, Michael (Vickie) of San Diego, Jeffrey (Sharon) of Redondo Beach, and Mark (Jody) of Berkeley. Six grandchildren, Rob (Mini), Ryan, Jason, Marisa, Adam (Lauren), and Kaitlyn (Adam), as well as five great grandchildren, Ashwin, Braden, Theo, Vivian, and Cecelia. Ruth is predeceased by her daughter Jan.
Ruth’s ashes will be interred in a private family service at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery, alongside her husband.
In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations be made, “In Memory of Ruth Nienberg,” to the Disabled American Veterans Foundation, a 501(c)(4) tax-exempt charity. Donations may be made to the following address:
DAV California Headquarters
13733 E Rosecrans Ave.
Santa Fe Springs, CA 90670
