Ruth Marie Ryan
What do you remember about Ruth? Share your stories and photos here, and invite others to come share their memories.
Died on November 9, 2020 in Denver, Colorado. She was born in Mt. Auburn, IL to Don and Dantzelle Williams Ryan on June 19, 1935.
She had fond memories growing up. After their farm house was connected to electricity, her father asked her to turn the lights on for the first time. Ruth loved to read and now she had light.
Ruth graduated from Marquette University as a Registered Nurse and went on to earn BSN and MSN degrees from the University of Iowa as a Psychiatric Nurse Specialist.
She worked at the Illinois State Mental Hospital in 1956. Later, she was a Nurse Specialist at the Iowa Psychopathic Hospital and a clinical instructor in Mental Health at the University of Iowa.
In 1974, she became a clinical nurse specialist and associate director of nursing at Denver Health, where she remained until her retirement.
Ruth had a strong commitment to improving the quality of life for her community. In 1983, she joined the Aurora Mental Health Center as a volunteer and later served as president of the Board of Directors.
Ruth was a leader in her community and enjoyed her involvement. She was a Consortium member of the Healthy Start Project, which provided services to newborn infants in North Aurora. She helped develop residential programs for people with mental illnesses who needed help transitioning from hospitals back into the community. She also had a role in developing children's mental health services.
She served many years on the Aurora Open Space Board and the Parks and Recreation Board.
In 2012 she won the Aurora Circle of Life award for demonstrating outstanding community leadership and making extraordinary contributions to the city.
Ruth was known for her witty sense of humor and love of mystery books. She traveled widely and had favorite stories about trips to Russia and Turkey.
Preceding her in death were parents Don and Dantzelle Ryan , sisters Donna Patton and Betty Ryan, and a nephew Brad Patton.
She is survived by nieces Brenda Patton, Rhonda Hinton Davis, and Sheila Hinton Heinen and nephew Bryan Patton and great nieces and nephews.
Services were entrusted to McClure Funeral Home in Taylorville, Illinois.