[Ron Ramirez]

Okay, we have a 1/2 winner! Ding ding ding ding ding

Jan Clayton played Ellen Miller, Jeff's mom and Gramps' daughter-in-law. I posted two screen shots of her in my other thread asking for identification of the cathedral radio in the parlor.

Timmy appeared in the first episode of season 4 as a runaway. His elderly aunt and uncle could not care for him and allowed Ellen and Gramps to take him in. So Jan Clayton served more as a foster mom to Timmy for the first dozen episodes of season 4.

Then George Cleveland unexpectedly died after appearing in the first 12 episodes of season 4...

Cloris Leachman was indeed the original Ruth Martin. She disliked the role and did all she could to get out of her contract, which she was able to do at the end of the fourth season.

So, anyone know the name of the actor who played Paul Martin before Hugh Reilly took over the role?

Unless you're a big fan of the show, you may not be able to guess this answer because season 4 of Lassie was generally not made available for syndication although a few cable channels have showed them on a limited basis.