Ruth Schroader Curtas

Ruth Schroader Curtas passed away gently on June 7, 2022, just two months shy of her 98th birthday. Ruth had been a resident of Athens since 1980, when she moved here from Winter Park, Fla. with her husband, Anthony John Curtas (1926-2006), a real estate developer.

Born in Pittsburgh, Pa. in 1924, Ruth enlisted in the Marine Corps upon graduating from high school in 1942, and served her country during World War II, eventually meeting her future husband at the conclusion of the war when both were stationed in San Diego, Calif.

For the past 30 years, Ruth, a Master Gardener, volunteered her services at the State Botanical Gardens of Georgia, where she cultivated both the flowers and plants she loved, and numerous friends and admirers.

Active and independent to the end, she never seemed to understand why people took such notice of her birthdays, stating that she hadn't done anything to warrant such attention. However, to those she had touched in her long life—as a mother, grandmother, mentor, neighbor and friend—her support, concern, and good nature was reason enough. Doing it for 97+ years was merely an incidental (and admirable) detail. Her passing was mourned (but not grieved) by her extended family, who celebrated her life as successful by any measure.

She is survived by her four children: Elizabeth Curtas Carmean of Athens; Faith Curtas Downey of Watkinsville; Brett Alexander Curtas of Midway, Ga.; and John Anthony Curtas of Las Vegas, Nev.; six grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren. (A fifth child, Kathleen, died in 1964.)

Services will be private.

If you wish to honor her memory, the family asks that a donation be made to the St. Jude Children's Hospital in her name.

Bernstein Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.