Ruth Elizabeth Holland Beeton

Ruth Elizabeth Holland Beeton

04/17/1936 – 09/12/2025

Ann Arbor, MI

Ruth Elizabeth Holland Beeton, a trailblazer for women in Great Lakes and limnological research, died in the company of her two sons on September 12, 2025 in Bethesda, MD due to dementia-related complications. Ruth was born in Weatherly, PA to parents Ruth (née Krick) and Charles Holland. Charles was a Lutheran minister and naval chaplain, meaning Ruth lived in many different cities growing up, including Newport, RI; San Diego, CA; and Norfolk, VA. Ruth graduated from St. Olaf College in Northfield, MN in 1958 and went on to enroll in medical school at the University of Michigan. Facing opposition from multiple faculty and advisors as to why a woman would get a medical degree when she couldn’t become a doctor, Ruth switched to zoology and received a Master’s degree, the foundation of her lifelong career in limnology. In 1963, Ruth interviewed for a research position with Dr. Alfred M. Beeton, the chief of the Environmental Research Program in the U.S. Bureau of Commercial Fisheries Great Lakes Fisheries Laboratory in Ann Arbor. Ruth was well-qualified for the position, but made it a condition for her employment that she be allowed to go out on research vessels to collect samples like the male researchers did. At the time this was a bold condition, as it was considered unlucky for women to be a member of a ship’s crew and social norms dictated that a woman should not be quartered with men on a ship for multiple days at a time. Dr. Beeton saw no problem with Ruth’s demand and she was allowed to conduct research out on the Great Lakes. While hard to document, Ruth is believed to be the first woman to have worked on a research vessel on the Great Lakes. The opposition she faced wasn’t just from some members of the crew, but from many of the wives of crew members who didn’t like the idea that Ruth would be quartered on multi-day research trips with their husbands. Ruth not only faced this opposition on the Great Lakes, but also during a harrowing trip on a small vessel conducting research in the Bermuda Triangle where both the captain and first mate debated jumping overboard during a fierce storm they believed was brought about because of Ruth’s presence on the ship. Ruth worked at the U.S. Bureau of Commercial Fisheries (1963–1966); at the Center for Great Lakes Research at the University of Milwaukee Wisconsin (1966–1976); and then at the College of Engineering Department of Atmospheric, Oceanic and Space Sciences at the University of Michigan from 1976 until her retirement. Ruth married Dr. Alfred M. Beeton in 1966 and had two sons, Jonathan and Daniel. Ruth and Alfred often worked together on Great Lakes research, and frequently collaborated on publications. Ruth conducted more than four decades of research throughout the Great Lakes basin, publishing under her maiden name, Ruth E. Holland, also a rarity at that time and often causing confusion at conferences and social functions. Notable publications include “Seasonal Fluctuations of Lake Michigan Diatoms” (1969) which focused on providing quantitative data on seasonal changes in diatom populations. Previous research had only focused on near-shore collection and Ruth’s paper provided more comprehensive sampling of near-shore, open-lake, and bay-area diatom populations. “Seasonal fluctuations of major diatom species at five stations across Lake Michigan: May 1970-October 1972” (1980) also sought to fill in gaps in previous research by performing year-round sampling at frequent intervals, and from inshore as well as offshore (including mid-lake) waters and despite harsh winter conditions. This paper documented a significant peak of one species of diatom in February 1972, and higher concentrations of diatoms and phosphorus in nearshore samples vs. offshore. Ruth’s research documented the significance of not relying on nearshore and/or seasonally limited sampling in future research. In 1993, Ruth published a paper that reached possibly her largest audience, “Changes in Planktonic Diatoms and Water Transparency in Hatchery Bay, Bass Island Area, Western Lake Erie Since the Establishment of the Zebra Mussel.” This paper used samples Ruth had collected prior to the introduction of zebra mussels into Lake Erie with samples after their establishment in the lake. She found dramatically increased water transparency and a decrease in total planktonic diatoms and chlorophyll concentrations. This increased transparency allows more light to penetrate the water column, which can have cascading effects on the ecosystem, potentially disrupting the food web. Ruth was a devoted mother, shifting to a half-time, at-home work schedule so that she could dedicate herself to raising Jonathan and Daniel and so that she could be a step-mother to Alfred’s daughters, Maureen, Heather, and Celeste. After regularly moving during her childhood, Ruth and Alfred put down roots and lived for over forty-five years in Ann Arbor. But Ruth was also an avid traveler, with visits to just about every state in the country and exposing Jonathan and Daniel to international travel at an early age. Ruth planned trips for her and Alfred to global destinations like Iceland; Turkey; Portugal; the Galápagos Islands; Peru; safaris in South Africa, Botswana and Namibia; cultural travel to Timbuktu; and an Antarctic exhibition. She also traveled with her brother Charles and his wife Shirley on several domestic river cruises. In later years, Ruth enjoyed annual trips with Alfred and then her son Jonathan’s family to Ontario to attend the Stratford theater festival. Ruth and Alfred also built a getaway on a wooded lot on Tubbs Lake outside of Barryton, MI where they liked to go out on the Martiny Lakes in their small boat and enjoy nature. Ruth’s time at St. Olaf College was very important to her and she proudly served as the class notes scribe for St. Olaf’s Class of 1958 newsletter and attended multiple class reunions in Northfield, MN. Ruth spent much of the last six years of her life in Chevy Chase, MD outside Washington, DC to be closer to her son Jonathan, his wife Kathleen, and her granddaughters Anja and Brynn. She attended many of her granddaughters’ soccer and baseball games and enjoyed going out to different restaurants, especially her favorite, Q by Peter Chang, where she dined almost weekly. Ruth was predeceased by her husband Alfred Beeton, her step-daughter Heather Fay, and her brothers Charles Holland (Shirley) and Carl Holland. Ruth is survived by her sons Jonathan (Kathleen) and Daniel (Amy Scanlon), her step-daughters Maureen Grimord Brinkerhoff (Jim) and Celeste Maronen, her sister in-law Sue Holland, her granddaughters Anja and Brynn, six step-grandchildren, and nine step-great grandchildren. Those wishing to honor Ruth can do so by reducing their impact on the environment, supporting science and science education, or by a financial contribution to the Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography (ASLO), the Stratford Festival, or your local NPR station. A remembrance of life will be held in her memory on November 2, 2025 from 2-4 p.m. at the Leslie Science & Nature Center, 1831 Traver Rd, Ann Arbor, MI 48105.