Ruth Dabney Allen

Family-Placed Death Notice

ALLEN, Ruth Dabney RUTH DABNEY ALLEN Ruth Dabney Smith Allen passed away peacefully Sunday evening, October 18, 2009. She was born September 25,1907 in Raleigh, N. C. to the late Ruth Heywood and Robert W. Smith. She was the widow of the late Roger Wolcott Allen to whom she was married for forty-four years. Ruth moved to Ansley Park in Atlanta at the age of eight and began studying piano; at ten she added the violin, an instrument that would shape her life and those of many pupils through seven decades of teaching. Ruth graduated from Washington Seminary in 1925 with an additional certificate in music and from the Atlanta Conservatory of Music in 1926 with a major in violin. During this time she had scholarships to study with Leon Sametini and Leopold Auer in Chicago. She earned her Bachelor of Music degree in violin performance from Syracuse University in 1934. During summers of the 1940's she studied at the Julliard School with Edoard Dethier and Louis Persinger and with Ivan Galamian at the The Meadowmount School of Music. Her teaching career began while she continued her studies: she taught piano at North Avenue Presbyterian School from 1925 -1934 and opened her private violin and viola studio in 1925. She taught violin at Washington Seminary in the mid-1930's, at Agnes Scott College from 1942-1950 and at Brevard Music Center during the summers from 1950 to 1957. She and her husband later built a summer home in Brevard which she named "Fiddlesticks." Ruth was an integral part of the South's twentieth century musical development. During the 1930's she was the concertmaster of the Atlanta Philharmonic Orchestra and she soloed with Enrico Leide and the Buckhead Summer Symphony. In 1958 she was a founder of the Atlanta Community Orchestra and served as its concertmaster for three years. During the 1960's she served in both the Savannah, Georgia and Jacksonville, Florida symphonies. Ruth served as president of Mu Phi Epsilon and as vice president of the Atlanta Music Club. She was an active member of the Thursday Morning Music Club. In 1979 she was chosen as the String Teacher of the Year by the Georgia Chapter of the American String Teachers Association. Ruth's legacy continues with former students now performing in the Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston and London Symphonies. Others teach and perform around the world. Ruth was an exceptional person who was easy to love. While focused on her career and possessing a superior intellect, she was engaged in all aspects of her life. She was a devoted friend to many and a wonderful step-mother to her three step-daughters who survive her, Pattie AIIen Bock, Tamara Allen Bazzle (Ken) and DeeDee Allen Burton (Wayne). She is also survived by her six grandsons, Richard W. Bock, M.D. (Jennifer), G. Steven Bock (Suzanne), Douglas H. Bock (Charlotte), Tyler Oxford, Hunter Oxford (Liang Yeh), and Clayton Bazzle. She is also survived by five great-grandchildren and her cousins Toni Long of Jacksonville, IN and Killian and Tom Smith of Atlanta. Ruth joined First Presbyterian Church of Atlanta in 1915 and served into her nineties as the concertmaster of its St. Cecilia Consort. Her memorial service will be held at First Presbyterian in the Chapel on Wednesday, October 21 at 11:30 a. m. with a reception following in the Berean Room. Graveside Services will be private. In Lieu of flowers donation may be made to First Presbyterian Church Atlanta music Club or Mu Phi Epsilon music sorority.