Obituary of Ruby Bigoni

Ruby was born in Tillamook, Oregon, to James and Emma Langley. Her grandparents were Israel and Mary Langley. Her other grandfather, Andrew Zuercher, moved to Tillamook from Bern, Switzerland when he was a young man. Having descended from pioneer families of Tillamook, namely Zuercher and Kodad, and Native / French Canadian families of Lachance, Langlois, she is a great-granddaughter of Twinisha of Winakske, aka Nancy of the Dalles. She married Orlando Pete “Bill” Bigoni on Oct 24, 1936 in Kelso, WA. She and Orlando are the parents of James Bigoni, Dianne Locklear, Richard Bigoni, Bill Bigoni. Orlando and Bill both walked on in 1990. Ruby had two older sisters Pearl and Bernice and an older half-brother Arnold. At the time of her passing, Ruby was the oldest tribal member of the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde. She loved traveling to Hawaii. In the last 5 years, she visited Hawaii 3 times, celebrating her 100th birthday in 2019. In her lifetime, she has visited Hawaii 25 times. Ruby and Orlando enjoyed traveling on cruise ships taking trips to Alaska, Hawaii, through the Panama Canal, Mexico, Europe, Caribbean, and Asia. Ruby worked in a drapery shop for more than 20 years. She was a banquet manager for the Fraternal Order of the Eagles and was installed as Grand Madam President of the Eagles in Boston, MASS, in 1971. She also worked for a number of years as a receptionist for Chinese eatery Lung Fung Restaurant. She traveled throughout North America during her years as Eagles Grand Madam President and presided over the International Convention held in Atlanta, GA. Ruby was also a guest on the Jerry Lewis Muscular Dystrophy Telethon, presenting a $25,000. Check on behalf of the Eagles. She also volunteered for the Red Cross for 50 years and was active at St. Charles Catholic Church in Portland. Ruby has lived in her home in NE Portland for over 65 years. We are so blessed and fortunate that Ruby lived a long and wonderful life. She is survived by her nephews Harold Lyon and Robert Nagle. Ruby has 10 grandchildren; 25 great-grandchildren; and 14 great-great-grandchildren. She will be privately entombed next to her husband Orlando. Due to COVID-19, services will be held at a future time. Please Visit Ruby’s online memorial and guestbook at www.wilhelmportlandmemorial.com