Ruth Eleanor Pratt Hayman

Ruth Eleanor Pratt Hayman, 85

Ruth Eleanor Pratt Hayman, 85, died in hospice care at the McGaw Center of Presbyterian Homes, Evanston, Illinois, on April 25. Mrs. Hayman, the widow of Professor Allen Hayman, had been in ill health for some time.

Born July 13, 1929 in Kansas City, Missouri, Ruth was adopted as an infant by Charles H. and Hazel Pratt of Urbana, Illinois, where her father was the chief accountant of the University of Illinois. She grew up in Urbana and attended the public schools there. She graduated from Urbana High School in 1946, and went on to attend the University of Illinois.

Prior to graduation, Mrs. Hayman took employment as a journalist with Champaign/Urbana and Chicago newspapers, working mainly in the society/community events sections.

In April, 1951, Ruth met Allen Hayman, then a graduate student at the University of Illinois, on a blind date, and they were married on September 9, 1951. The couple had three children, Sarah, Matthew and Rachel, between 1952-1957, and in 1958 moved to West Lafayette, Indiana, where Professor Hayman joined the English Department at Purdue University. He retired from the University in 1991. The couple moved to Evanston in 2003, where they lived at 1020 Grove Street.

Mrs. Hayman worked for many years in the science counseling office at Purdue. She was very active in the community, including volunteering with the League of Women Voters, the Lafayette Arts Center and Planned Parenthood. In Evanston, Mrs. Hayman was a volunteer for Meals At Home.

During their marriage, Mrs. Hayman lived with her husband in Yugoslavia, Finland and England. They enjoyed traveling throughout the U.S., Europe and Central and South America. Mrs. Hayman was known as a great cook and hostess, and was a highly cultured, warm and caring person who appreciated the beauty of nature and fine art, and was a great friend and companion. She took particular delight in her grandchildren. She was a wonderful woman.

Ruth Hayman is survived by her three children, five grandchildren, and a sister, Helen Hadfield of Urbana.