Ruth Ann Brown passed away peacefully in her home Thursday, Oct. 22, 2020, surrounded by loved ones. After a two-and-a-half-year battle with pancreatic cancer, which she faced bravely and always with a gracious smile for friends and family, she experienced a rapid decline and chose to enter hospice just days before her passing.
Ola Ruth Ann Brown (nee Medlock) was born Nov. 12, 1943, in Gideon, Mo., to L. J. and Juanita Medlock. Her parents both suffered from tuberculosis and after her father died when Ruth was an infant and her mother was hospitalized for many years, Ruth grew up with her grandparents, Irvin and Ossie Leavelle, in Gravel Hill, Ark. Once Juanita had recovered from Tuberculosis and remarried Marvin Jerls, Ruth moved to Mount Vernon, Mo., to attend high school.
The first of her immediate family to attend college, she received a full scholarship to complete her bachelor of science degree, majoring in biology with a math minor from Southwest Missouri State College (Missouri State University) in Springfield, Mo. Ruth was awarded an “open” National Science Foundation Grant to pursue an advanced degree in any science at the university of her choice. She conducted her research on plant pathogens and received a master’s degree in pathology from the University of Missouri-Columbia.
Ruth was a scientist, because as she said, “if you were smart in the era of Sputnik, you devoted your talents to science.” However, Ruth was a Renaissance woman. While working as an electron microscopist in the WSU Vet School, she co-authored several scientific manuscripts, but she often expressed herself in poetry, creative writing and visual arts.
Ruth was an avid reader, a charter member of the Page Turners Book Club, and a member of three other reading groups (often finishing several books a week). She belonged to several writer groups such as Chalk Elk Speaks and the Idaho Writers League where she won statewide first-place awards for both poetry and flash-fiction categories in 2014. Ruth authored two books “From the Rookery” (2013) and “Brown’s Station” (2015); and an original screenplay about her mother’s struggle with Tuberculosis, “The White Plague.” She also contributed chapters to four other books: “Down the Rabbit Hole” (2013), “The Ecology of Desire” (2014) “7 Forks in a Cheesecake” (2015), and “Black and White” (2015). Ruth created multiple soft indoor sculptures, collages, stained glass panels and outdoor sculptures with objects found on the Palouse.
Ruth loved to travel. She visited six continents, more than 30 countries and lived for an extended period in The Netherlands (1983-84) and Australia (2004). However, Ruth’s favorite way of seeing a country was to walk a hundred miles in 10 or so days over the countryside with her friends. She walked across the Lake District, Offa’s Dyke between England, Wales and The South Downs Way, all in England. She also trekked across the Istria Peninsula in Croatia and the Island of Cyprus. When not walking across countries, Ruth met many friends here in Pullman through yoga, aerobics and Nia classes.
Ruth was a fabulous cook, (“you can never use too much butter”) and a gracious host. She was an avid bird-watcher with a life-list of several hundred avian friends. Ruth loved the outdoors, she led several all-woman wilderness backpacking trips and could rattle off the scientific name of any plant you could point at.
Ruth and her husband (and best friend) John went on many adventures together and this September celebrated 50 years since their first meeting. Three years after that first encounter, they were married in 1973 on St. Patrick’s Day. She is also survived by her loving daughter, Melissa and many, many dear friends.
In lieu of flowers or food, please contribute to Planned Parenthood or Dining for Women in Ruth’s name. An online guest book is at www.kimballfh.com. Kimball Funeral Home of Pullman is caring for the family.
