Ruth Elizabeth Schmitter Jr.

Ruth’s parents were Charles Robert Schmitter, Sr., and Ruth Elizabeth (Ohlsson) Schmitter. Ruth, Jr. is survived by her brothers, Dr. Charles Robert Schmitter (Patricia Thompson) and Fr. Philip Anthony Schmitter. Ruth was very proud of her three nephews: Paul (Anita) Schmitter of Ann Arbor, Michigan; Dr. Stephen (Dr. Margaret Lee) Schmitter of Carlsbad, California; and Patrick (Diana) Schmitter of Tampa, Florida; as well as her grand-nephews and grand-nieces Madeleine, Eli, Helen, Sydney, Sophie, Luke, and Kate; and her former sister-in-law, Meeyung Ainsworth.

Ruth attended Mason Public Schools, graduating as valedictorian in 1960. She enjoyed many activities, including band (flute), junior and senior plays, safety patrol, and Girl Scouts. She also enjoyed athletics around Michigan State University, where her brother, Chuck, then a student at MSU, noticed an opportunity for a summer science institute for honor students and told her, “This is for you!” That experience helped direct her path through college and graduate school, where she worked with technical equipment, preparing materials for microphotography and the use of the electron microscope. While at MSU, she was in Tower Guard, a women’s honor group, and enjoyed reading for blind students. After graduating from college, Ruth received a Fulbright Scholarship to earn a master’s degree at the University of Edinburgh.

While Ruth was growing up, her family camped every summer in Michigan. In the summer of 1955, the family drove to Alaska and enjoyed fishing, hiking, and camping in primitive places. The next spring, the family took an Italian freighter to Genoa, Italy, and spent six months in Milan, and traveled to Assisi, Rome, Pompeii, and other places.

After completing her master’s thesis in Scotland, Ruth had time before her next academic step and traveled alone to Iran, Afghanistan, Nepal, Jordan, and India, reflecting her independence, courage, and deep intellectual curiosity about the world.

Ruth loved being an aunt. While working on her doctorate at Harvard, she had each nephew visit her to see Harvard, Boston, and other sights. She was very proud of the accomplished and kind adults they have become.

Despite the sexism she encountered, Ruth succeeded in becoming a biology professor. She taught Biology for several years at the University of Massachusetts, Boston, where she was named Best Teacher the same year she was laid off. In 1982, Ruth joined the faculty at Albion College, where she taught until 2017. Upon retirement, she was named Professor Emerita. She was very thoughtful in helping her parents navigate aging and death. She appreciated the excellence of her colleagues at Albion and worked hard to be a sensitive listener to her students. While aware of the importance of academic content, she also tried to help the whole person. Ruth and a couple of other professors took groups of students to Belize, where a coral reef, savanna, and dense jungle are close together.

A powerful and steadying force in Ruth’s life was her Catholic faith. She read widely in the areas of faith and reason and science, and she was very comfortable in both worlds. She studied topics such as evolution, race, and gender deeply. She was in the first children’s choir at St. James. Ruth, her brothers, and her mother sang together for several years in an adult choir. In her Albion parish, Ruth was a reader at Mass, a minister of communion, helped with the Fish Fry, served on the Parish Council, and assisted with RCIA for those wanting to learn more about the Church.

Ruth enjoyed hiking, cats, stamp collecting, painting, helping at the Albion Library and Nature Center, and even raising a baby skunk found abandoned in the wild. It never sprayed her, and after eight months, she released it back to nature. She was a member of the Albion Area Philanthropic Women, a group of about 100 women who each contribute $1,000 to support local nonprofits. Since its founding, $750,000 has been given away.

Ruth was an active member of the Hiawatha Sportsman’s Club in the Upper Peninsula. She regularly led nature hikes and took care to make them accessible to those with limited mobility. Because Ruth was a great preserver of nature, if you wish to donate in her memory, please consider contributing to an organization that protects people or animals in distress, or to a nature conservancy or preserve.

During the last three months of her life, though her health was declining, Ruth felt a deep sense of gratitude. She said, “I have never been homeless or without food. Although I had TB when I was five, and again later when a kidney was removed at age 17 because of TB, I did not die. I just turned 83. I can only be thankful.”

Services will be held on Thursday, January 15, 2026, at St. James Catholic Church at 1010 S. Lansing Street, Mason, Michigan 48854

Family Hour at 10:00 a.m. followed by Mass of the Resurrection at 11:00 a.m with luncheon will immediately follow.

Burial will take place after the luncheon at Maple Grove Cemetery, 213 North Jefferson Street, Mason, Michigan 48854

God bless you for the kind and holy gift of your presence. Thank you.