Ruth Ann Hughes Gartell 

(Church & School Built in India)

Ruth was the eldest of five children and was a loving daughter, mother and accomplished pianist. (This skill was used in future years in which she played music for a ballet dance class in exchange for free lessons for her youngest daughter, who is today a ballet dancer for the Milwaukee Ballet Company.) Ruth was also a first rate choreographer for her high school dances, and also for her sibling’s school plays. Being the oldest, she was a guardian to her siblings, a storyteller and a peacemaker–always settling disputes among her siblings.

After Ruth Ann graduated with honors in Literature from the University of Indiana, she then matriculated at the University of Arizona, studying Anthropology.

Ruth Ann and her husband traveled and studied abroad together at the Christian University of Tokyo, Japan, and also at Taipei, Taiwan, on a 2 year grant.

She was truly a remarkable being, who loved life and loved giving to others. Life on earth is over for Ruth Ann, but she leaves a legacy of two young ladies in the process of leading productive lives, and a husband who has built a pond with a fountain in it to memorialize Ruth’s passionate love of life.