Ruth Ann Rogers Montgomery

Ruth Ann Rogers Montgomery passed away April 7, 2025, in Dallas, at age 94. She was born to Harold and Helen Rogers in 1930 and had one sister, Helen Elizabeth Rogers. All three predeceased her. Ruth Ann was an alumna of Highland Park High School (1947), attended Wellesley College, and was graduated from SMU with a BA in English (1951) and an MA in Education (1952). She was a member of Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority. While making her Idlewild debut in Dallas, she met Dr. Philip O’Bryan Montgomery, Jr. They married in 1953. The two were utterly devoted to and proud of each other. They were married 52 years, until his death in 2005.

Of all her public and private roles, Ruth Ann wished to be remembered for being a good daughter, a good mother, a good wife, a good mother-in-law, and a good grandmother. As she said, “Those are the most important accomplishments of my life.”

Those who knew Ruth Ann Montgomery unfailingly praised her kindness, wit, warmth, and ability to find joy in her own life and the lives of others. She lived the precept, taught to her by her own mother, that “Kindness is an everyday virtue.” She will be missed by many, admired by more, and never forgotten by those who knew her.

Philip and Ruth Ann had four sons: Philip O’Bryan Montgomery III (who preceded her in death), Carter Rogers Montgomery, Will Stuart Montgomery and Harold Hench Montgomery. All four sons attended St. Mark’s School of Texas, as did their father.

So rich was her volunteer life that Ruth Ann’s manifold accomplishments and the lives she touched can be summarized, but never fully recounted. She became President of many of the organizations she joined, including: The Dallas County Heritage Society; Tejas Girl Scout Council; Dallas Woman’s Club; Dallas Shakespeare Club; Faculty Wives Club of the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School; Friends of the Governor’s Mansion; the Women’s Council of Dallas County; The McDermott Building Oversight Committee and the MarketPlatz Planning Committee (the last two in Fredericksburg, Texas); She also served as trustee or director of: The Dallas Museum of Art; Dallas Historical Society, Friends of the Degolyer Estate, Goals for Dallas, Greater Dallas Planning Council, Linz Award Selection Committee, and the Texas Historical Foundation. She also served on the Dallas Planning and Zoning Commission.

Ruth Ann had a great love for historical preservation, fulfilled through her civic work in Dallas, and in Fredericksburg, Texas, where she and Philip bought the Christian Chrenwelge house on Schubert St. in 1965. They renovated the house and furnished it with period antiques, while integrating themselves into the community. Ruth Ann and Philip were closely involved in the preservation and renovation of the Pioneer Memorial Library and the Nimitz Museum in Fredericksburg, with the generous assistance of their friends Eugene and Margaret McDermott.

In recognition of her civic contributions, she was awarded the Founder’s Cup by the Dallas County Heritage Society (1978), and the Distinguished Alumna Award by SMU (1980).

In 1974, they bought land in Montague County, to which they repaired as often as they could. The land remains a treasured retreat for the family.

Ruth Ann traveled voraciously, always being ready for the next trip. Ruth Ann and Philip took the family to as many corners of the world as they could safely explore over the course of many summers. She also took her grandchildren on trips to Paris and to Egypt, enlivening their own genetic disposition for travel.

Ruth Ann Rogers Montgomery is survived by:

• Carol C. Montgomery, widow of Philip O’Bryan Montgomery III, and their children Ann, her husband Adam Hinshaw(child Joan), Jane, and Maureen;

• Carter, his wife Missy and their children John and Peter,

• Will, his wife Mary-Blake and their children Blake, Daly, her wife Chelsea Terry, and Stuart;

• Harold, his wife Kaysie and their children Molly and Philip; and

• Her first cousin Bruce Campbell and his wife Carol Ann, of Amarillo.

Though not strictly family, RuthAnn’s assistant, bookkeeper, confidant, and fellow dachshund-lover Linda Rowell Bailey also survives Ruth Ann, after 53 years of able service within, and far beyond, the call of her duties.

The family gives special thanks to her diligent and devoted caretakers over the past four years: Elshaday Tokon; Almaz Yeshitla; and Frehiwot Yeshitila, who gave unmatched and indefatigable care to Ruth Ann to the end.

Ruth Ann would be gratified if her life inspired charitable donations to any of these institutions: UTSW Medical School; St. Mark’s School of Texas; Dallas Historical Society; Girl Scouts of Dallas; Pioneer Memorial Library of Fredericksburg, Texas; and Friends of the Dallas Public Library.

The family will hold a private memorial service.

A reception for all who wish to celebrate Ruth Ann’s vibrant life will be held from 2 pm to 4 pm on Saturday, April 26, at 7000 Park Lane, Dallas, 75225.