Ruth Ann Lusk, 80, a longtime resident of Hood River, Ore., died on May 18, 2023, in Meridian, Idaho. She was born in 1942 in Ohio to Stanley and AnnaBelle Ireton. In 1964 Ruth graduated from Defiance College, where she earned the prestigious Pilgrim Medal. Recipients of this award demonstrate self-reliance, pride in work, courage in conscience, strength in education, and faith. Following a work and service trip to Europe, she attended Chicago Theological Seminary and earned her Master of Divinity in 1969. Ruth was ordained in the United Church of Christ in 1970.
Ruth and her husband, Stephen, pioneered team ministry as Christian education co-ministers at the First Congregational Church in Bakersfield, Calif., and as co-ministers at the Community Congregational United Church of Christ in Los Alamitos, Calif. In 1986, Ruth became the owner and teacher of Riverside Nursery School in Hood River. In 1991, she joined the Women in the Workplace Delegation to the former Soviet Union as part of the Citizen’s Ambassador Program of People to People.
Ruth worked as the coordinator of Child Care Connections, later Child Care Partners, a resource and referral network, from 1991 until her retirement. She was a member of the National Association for the Education of Young Children, the Oregon Association for the Education of Young Children, the Oregon Child Care Resource and Referral Network Board of Directors, and the American Association of University Women, for which she also served as president from 1990-1992. In 2004, she earned the Soroptimist Woman of Distinction award foreEducation. In 2019, she and Stephen moved to the Treasure Valley in Idaho to be closer to their daughter, who works at Boise State University.
Ruth leaves behind her husband of 55 years, Stephen, and their child Danya. In lieu of flowers, please make memorial gifts to the Boise State University Foundation designated to the School of Social Work Alumni and Friends Scholarship to support the education of social care workers who will help vulnerable people of all ages. Online: boisestate.edu/giving/donate/health-sciences . By check: Boise State University Foundation, 1173 University Drive, Boise, ID 83706.