Ruth Ann Dunn

On April 13th, 1943, Ruth Ann Shetler was born at home in Pigeon, MI to Marian and Adeline (Swartzendruber) Shetler and was the middle of three children. Early on in her life she found a love of reading that drove her to pass that love to future generations.

She started her teaching education in southern California moving from Chaffey Junior College with an Associate of Arts in Social Science and Education, to Goshen College in Indiana, where she earned her Bachelors in Elementary Education. She also took a few extra courses at the University of LaVern and UCLA becoming a Reading Specialist in California.

Ruth Ann began teaching in the Ontario Montclair school district in California in 1964, passing along her love of reading for over a decade before taking some time off to raise 2 daughters and head up to Washington State.

In 1984 she became the first 2nd grade teacher at the Eastside Christian School in Bellevue, WA where she worked for almost 30 years before finally retiring with her husband Bernard Dunn to Nevada.

Moving up to Washington she found comfort in the Seattle Mennonite Church. She was a charter member of Evergreen Mennonite Church in Kirkland, a church plant of Seattle Mennonite on the Eastside. Ruth Ann was an active volunteer at many of the church’s functions and craft festivals. The church was a very strong part of her life and she loved the family connections she felt with much of the congregation.

Throughout her life her beliefs and faith would stay a strong part of her ability to deal with the hardships of life. She found a lot of strength from God and her family at whatever church she was a part of.

Ruth Ann would tell people that the reason she loved 2nd grade so much was watching that spark grow in her students into a true love of reading. Seeing children find the joy of books and inspiring their imaginations was a true blessing and love in her life.

Music was also a very important to her. She played the Autoharp for her church and school, keeping a unique piece of musical history alive, even if only as a novelty.

She met her future husband Bernard through her flight instructor in 1970 and they bonded over a love of flying. Often times their dates would also count for logged flight hours. They married not long after in October of 1970 and raised 2 daughters; Annette and Suzanne.

Always the crafty type, not only had she sewn her own wedding dress, but both of her daughters would often get handmade clothes and her students would often get a crocheted Christmas ornament she made for them. She took tailoring classes, created many of her own visual aids for school, and the downstairs was a never-ending supply of popsicle sticks, yarn, and empty toilet paper rolls.

Ruth Ann peacefully passed away in her sleep on March 1st of this year and leaves a hole in all of us that will remain forever. She was preceded in death by her parents Marion and Adeline Shelter and her brother Jay Shetler. She is survived by her husband of 49 years, Bernard Dunn, her daughters, Annette (Douglas) Hein, and Suzanne (Alex) Dunn Plaza, and her sister Grace Shetler.