Ruth Mary Race
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Ruth Mary Pasco Spiker Race was born in Casper, WY on February 28, 1932, the only child of William and Gladys Higgins Pasco.
She was raised in Billings, MT. She attended Shattuck-St. Mary's Academy, an Episcopal boarding school in Faribault, MN. She graduated from the University of Colorado with her Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and International Relations in 1954 where she was a member of Kappa Alpha Theta sorority. Ruth married James Spiker in 1954. Together they had two children - John Scott Spiker (1955) and Anne Spiker (1958).
The family moved to Hinsdale, IL in 1959. Ruth started her successful real estate career with Chicago's largest residential real estate firm, Baird & Warner. She later moved to the city of Chicago in 1980 and worked for the Chicago Association of Commerce and Industry. She was a member of the Chicago Board of Realtors. In 1982, she and Lillian Gholson established In-Town Properties, specializing in corporate relocation. Ruth Mary was always very engaged member of the communities in which she resided, including PTAs, Cub Scouts, Community Concerts, and PEO. She served as the longtime 8th Grade Sunday school teacher at Grace Episcopal Church. She volunteered at the Hinsdale Sanitarium and was a guide at the Chicago Oriental Institute Museum. In the 1980s, she became a member of the Service Club of Chicago, Chicago's oldest woman's charity, becoming president in 1990. Ruth always considered herself a woman of the West and in 1990 built a cabin in Roscoe, MT that became the center of gravity for her family.
In 1988 Ruth married Charles Race of Barrington, IL, a partner in Ritchie Realty in Chicago. They resided in Barrington, IL where they were active in Barrington Hills Country Club until 2005 when they retired to Mariner Sands in Stuart, FL. She and Chuck became members of the St. Mary's Episcopal Church there. One year after Chuck's death in 2013, Ruth made the decision to move into Grand Oaks where she lived her final days.
Ruth is survived by her two children: John Scott Spiker (Nancy) and Anne Spiker Heller (Andrew); her five grandchildren: Margaret Spiker, Madeline Spiker, Alex Heller, Heidi Heller, and Blake Heller. She is also survived by three stepchildren, Charles Race (Karen), John Race (Sandra) and Thomas Race (Kathy), along with nine step-grandchildren: Jason Race, Mariel Race Tucker (Chris), Nathan Race, Tasia Race Bateman (Stephen), Nicole Race Turman (Joseph), John Race (Tanya), Amanda Race-Miller (Peter), Thomas Race, Jr. (Patty) and Zachary Race. She also is survived by her stepsister, Scotta Ramsay Carr.