Ruth Ann McDonald

Ruth Ann McDonald of Gladstone, Missouri died Friday, July 4, 2014, at Garden Valley Nursing and Rehab. She was a member of the St. Mary’s Episcopal Church, 1307 Holmes, Kansas City, Missouri, where memorials services will be held 2:00 pm, Friday, July 11, 2014. There will be no visitation. Private graveside services will be held at a later date at White Chapel Memorial Gardens, Gladstone, Missouri. The Family requests no flowers and suggests contributions to St. Mary’s church or to another charity of their choice. Mrs. McDonald was born August 3, 1924 at Quiet Glen Farm, Andrew County, Missouri, to Marion Freeman Scott and Ruth Clark Scott. The family moved to St. Joseph, Missouri, in 1931, where she attended and graduated from Pickett High School. Her first two years of college were spent at Northwest Missouri State Teachers College in Maryville, Missouri. Subsequently, she attended the University of Kansas, earning an A.B. degree in Spanish/English/History and a B.S. degree in Education. She moved to the Kansas City area in 1946, where she held executive secretarial positions, spent approximately 20 years as a legal secretary, and taught fifth grade in the Olathe school system and elementary Spanish in the North Kansas City school system. Music was her favorite avocation. She was one of seven charter members acting as incorporators of the Kansas City Civic Orchestra in 1959 and participated in other orchestral and choral groups, including the KU Symphony, the KU a capella choir, and the Kansas City Philharmonic chorus, which was utilized for early Kansas City opera productions. She was married to Richard J. McDonald on June 12, 1965. Mrs. McDonald was preceded in death by her parents and her husband. Survivors include a son, Richard Scott McDonald, Gladstone; aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces and nephews.