She lives in Tennessee but occasionally visits California. Ruthie is a demanding and opinionated woman, often seen nagging Robby about his habits and parenting skills. While in high school Ruthie dated fellow Tennessean Elvis Presley and claimed to have been the one to first give him the nickname "The King" after playing Checkers with him. Elvis eventually started dating Aunt Dolly which began a 30-year feud between the two women. Ruthie is also very competitive. She is a former Olympian and played volleyball at the 1964 Olympics. She even takes small games seriously, such as Battleship and Tiddlywinks.