Ruth Horlick Neukom

RUTH HORLICK NEUKOM Homemaker-Community Leader -Benefactor Ruth Horlick Neukom, long-time San Mateo resident and wife of the late John G. Neukom, died after a lengthy illness at her San Mateo home on September 1. She was 87. Mrs. Neukom was an active member and benefactor of the Family Service Agency of San Mateo County, Planned Parenthood of Northern California, and worked as a counselor to young women at the San Mateo Juvenile Home. In 1963 she was awarded the University of Chicago Public Service award for her "creative leadership in service that has benefited society, expanded the ideas of what is possible in a community, and engaged and empowered others". Mrs. Neukom was born in Chicago in 1915. After attending Normal College and teaching in southside Chicago, she was awarded a scholarship to the University of Chicago, where she completed a bachelor's degree in Anthropology in 1936. In 1946, she and her husband, a Director of McKinsey and Company, moved to San Mateo, Mr. Neukom was the Manager of the San Francisco office of McKinsey from 1946 to 1972. They were active members of the Congregational Church of San Mateo, where she served as head of the Alter Guild and in many other capacities. Her ecclesiastical embroidery hangs in that church, as well as in Stanford Law School and Rockefeller Chapel at the University of Chicago. In 1996, Mrs. Neukom established the Neukom Family Chair in Anthropology at the University of Chicago, stating, "The insights of anthropology provided my central understanding of life, especially a tolerance for and understanding of other people's cultures. Anthropology has so much to offer about race, religion, social structures, raising children and more. It enables people to work out their problems in new ways." At the time of her death, Mrs. Neukom was a member of the Women's Board of the University, and the Harper Society. In 1988 Mrs. Neukom moved to the Peninsula Regent in San Mateo. She was the first head of the Regent's Library Committee and instrumental in the establishment of the Peninsula Regent Community Foundation. She is survived by her children Barbara Bohn of San Francisco, William of Seattle, Davidson of San Rafael, and Daniel of Sacramento, 12 grandchildren and 3 great-grandchildren. A memorial service will be held on Saturday, September 21 at 1 P.M. at the Congregational Church, corner of Tilton Avenue and San Mateo Drive. Contributions in her name may be made to the John G. and Ruth H. Neukom Scholarship Fund at the University of Chicago, 5801 Ellis Ave., Suite 007C, Chicago, IL 60637, or to Mission Hospice, Inc., 151 W. Twentieth Avenue, San Mateo, CA 94403. SNEIDER AND SULLIVAN FUNERAL HOME (650) 343-1804