Fay Ruth Botham

GENEVA - Fay (Ruth) Botham, 52, beloved wife of Tahlia Fischer, passed away on Sunday (January 10, 2021) at her home in Geneva, N.Y.

Fay was born in Grand Junction, Colo., to Elsbeth and Kenneth Botham, Sr. She earned a bachelor's degree from Wheaton College, Ill., where she met her former husband and life-long friend, David Chase. After Wheaton, Fay earned an MA in Education from National-Louis University and an MA and PhD in American Religions from Claremont Graduate University in 2005. Fay was an insightful scholar, inspiring teacher, and extraordinary writer, publishing a number of essays and two books during her scholarly career. Her book, Almighty God Created the Races: Interracial Marriage, Christianity, and American Law, published by the University of North Carolina Press in 2009, traces the cultural history of interracial marriage and miscegenation laws in the U.S. through Catholic and Protestant theologies, focusing on the landmark 1967 Loving v. Virginia Supreme Court case. During her academic career she taught at the University of Loyola, Marymount, the University of Iowa, and Hobart and William Smith College, where she made lasting impressions on all of her students.

In addition to her exceptional scholarship, Fay brought passion and humor to everything she did. Her unique laugh was infectious, as was her love of food, animals, playing her bass, Ursula, and cringe-worthy 70s horror films. After leaving academia she brought her love of local food to a new business, Locavore, which offered local foodie delicacies and goods in downtown Geneva from 2018-2020. Even after leaving academia, Fay continued to write and was at work on a semi-autobiographical novel, entitled Love, Mercy, Grace, at the time of her death.

It was impossible not to be smitten by Fay's wit, her laugh, her intellect, and especially her cooking. Our world has been made smaller and much less vibrant without her in it and she will be dearly, desperately missed.

Fay is survived by her soulmate of 22 years, Tahlia Fischer, whom she married in 2011; her nephew, Thad Botham, his wife Peggy, and Thad's children; her brother, Ken Jr.; her former husband, David and his partner, Atikus; her three cats and her dog, Skye; and her chosen family, the many devoted friends she made throughout her life.

Arrangements have been entrusted to DeVaney-Bennett Funeral Home.