Ruth (Sanborn) Van Haaften was born in South Haven, Michigan in 1896. She moved with her family to Kalamazoo in 1911. She lived with her parents Alice and Waldo Sanborn, who worked as a contractor and stone mason, and her three sisters and two brothers. Ruth married Edward Van Haaften on July 19, 1919, after he had returned from service overseas in World War I.

Edward Van Haaften was born July 18, 1894, in Kalamazoo, Michigan. His family, which included his father Peter (an immigrant from the Netherlands), his mother Gertruda, his three sisters, Bessie, Evelyn, and Alice, and one brother, John, lived in 234 Burr Oak Street. Edward worked at the Armour Company in Detroit, Michigan until he entered Army service on August 21, 1917. He was assigned to the 102nd Aero Squadron, and served overseas in France. During his service he rose to the rank of Master Electrician.

When Edward was released from service in 1919, he returned to Kalamazoo, obtained a job working for the Roamer Auto Manufacturing Company, and married Ruth on July 19, 1919. They lived at Summer Homepark on Long Lake and soon built and moved into their home located on 6368 Douglass Avenue in Kalamazoo, Michigan.

Edward remained active in the Army Reserves as a Second Lieutenant, and began working with Consumer’s Power Company. He was called into the Civilian Conservation Corp in both 1933 and 1940. In 1941 he was called into active duty and was assigned to the Signal Corp attached to the Air Force. He was stationed in Tennessee, Louisiana, and Alabama. Ruth accompanied him for these assignments. Soon afterwards, Edward was transferred to the Strategic Air Command in Florida and subsequently sent overseas for six months during which time Ruth moved back to Michigan and lived with Edward’s sister, Bessie, and mother. Edward was released in 1946 from his station in El Paso, Texas, and returned to Kalamazoo to work until retirement in 1959 for Consumer’s Power Company, and to live until his death on May 5, 1967. Ruth died on February 11, 1990 in Kalamazoo.