Ruth Trager

1925 - 2022

TRAGER, Ruth Estes

1925-2022

Ruth Estes Trager was born on December 28, 1925 in Pittsburgh, PA to Ralph Cary Estes and Artrue Holland Estes. She died in Atlanta, GA on March 13, 2022 at the age of 96. Cremation is under the direction of H.M. Patterson & Son - Arlington Chapel.

Ruth attended public schools in Pittsburgh, Montgomery, AL and Arlington, VA and graduated from Girls High School in Atlanta. In 1947, she graduated from the University of Georgia with a degree in broadcast journalism. At Georgia, Ruth was a member of Alpha Omicron Pi sorority and Theta Sigma Phi, Phi Kappa Phi, Phi Beta Kappa, and Mortar Board honorary societies. She was named to The Grady Fellowship of the Henry W. Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication in 2009. She had a lifelong love of music and sang in choirs and choral groups throughout her life. Ruth also served as president of the Women's Glee Club at UGA.

Ruth joined the staff of WAGA radio in 1948 and transferred to WAGA-TV when the station went on the air circa 1950. She also helped to put WLAC-TV, Channel 5, in Nashville, TN on the air in 1954. In 1957, Ruth joined Tucker Wayne & Co. as a broadcast media buyer and remained with the company until 1978, leaving as Vice President, Associate Media Director. Subsequently, she was Vice President, Media Director for Pringle Dixon Pringle and Vice President, Associate Media Director for J. Walter Thompson advertising agencies. She retired from the ad business in 1984, at which time she and her husband, Albert Davies Trager, retired to Boise, ID.

In Boise, Ruth was active in the Assistance League of Boise, serving as Fundraising Chairman and Treasurer among other offices. She also sang with the Boise Choristers and in the choir of the Cathedral of the Rockies. After her husband's death in 2006, she returned to Atlanta where she became a member of Northside Drive Baptist Church.

Ruth is survived by her brother, Dr. Richard C. Estes and his wife, Rebecca, of Sea Island, GA and Winston-Salem, NC, and nieces Susanne Estes Saad (John) of Atlanta, GA and Elisabeth Estes Lovett (Peter) of Winston-Salem, NC. She also is survived by five great nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her parents and her husband of fifty years, Albert Davies Trager.

A graveside service will be held at Arlington Cemetery at a later date. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Northside Drive Baptist Church.