Leo Van Ruth died in Calaveras County, California on March 20, 1949. You can write to the County archives there and see if you they can look for an obit, which should hopefully confirm he is the father of Earl Harold.
http://adm.calaverasgov.us/AdministrativeOffice/Archives.asp...

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gsr&GSiman...


There is a marriage here for a Leo Van Ruth and Amelia Bameny in 1898. In 1920, his wife is "Elmaria". In 1920, he is married to a Susan. He married Alice in 1931
http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/vitalrecords/index.asp