Ruth M. Ryan

Ruth M. Ryanfriend, mom, and teacherhas died. A lifelong Southern Californian (except for five memorable years in Berkeley), Ruth bounced between the San Bernardino area, where she was born, and the Pasadena area, where she died.The only child of Mary and Calvin Morris, Ruth grew up during the Great Depression and World War II. In the 1930s, her family pursued such opportunities as existed. Ruth held up her end, both as an excellent student and a hard worker. She graduated from the University of California in 1947 with a bachelor's degree in English. Later in life, she would earn a master's degree in linguistics at UCLA. Like many women in the Greatest Generation, Ruth fell in love with a returning veteran. She worked in San Francisco and the young couple lived on her income, supplemented by the GI Bill. Ruth always felt kinship with other working women and most felt the same towards her. For two decades, ranging from the early 1950s to the early 1970s, Ruth was a full-time wife and mother. Notwithstanding the challenges of raising children and supporting her husband's career, she found ways to engage the wider world. Ruth actively supported racial justice and reproductive rights, both during that period and for the rest of her life.As a mother, Ruth was both tough-minded and tender-hearted. Always independent herself, she understood that human beings need each other. She walked a line between the two, encouraging personal competence, on the one side, while remaining patient and kind, on the other. In the final decades of her life, Ruth dazzled, a living embodiment of growing old gracefully. She worked as a public-school teacher for English learners. She traveled extensively. She became an enthusiastic Unitarian. She walked. She laughed. She served. Ruth was an earnest and generous presence in the lives of those around her. Although grateful for the 96 long years, her family grieves. Ruth's children are celebrating her life at the Neighborhood Church in Pasadena on Sunday, September 24th at 2PM. In lieu of flowers, Ruth would encourage you to spend your money wisely. She gave to Planned Parenthood, the Women's Room in Pasadena, and AAUW Tech Trek, among others.