Ruth Alice Paul

Ruth Alice Hunt was born in Oakland California on October 11, 1923, and had two older brothers, Robert and Crandall, and a younger sister Patricia. Her mother died when she was three so she was primarily raised by her grandmother from England. The family later settled in Parkersburg, West Virginia, where she enjoyed science, drawing, gymnastics, performing skits, selling lemonade with her friends and would spend hours playing in the city park. She also played piano and sang in the church choir.

Though known to be shy in high school, she was a member of the student council, class treasurer and had a lead part in a school play. She was well liked for her humorous sports column in the school paper describing sporting events from the perspective of someone unfamiliar with sports. Ruth was one of the few selected to attend an all state chorus competition for Parkersburg High School.

Ruth met Vernon Paul at a church youth conference and they were engaged before he joined the Army and was sent to Europe. She wanted to become a doctor, and met all qualifications, but was urged to reconsider given it was such a male dominated field. Instead, she went to nursing school at the University of Cincinnati. Vernon and Ruth married at a Methodist church after his return from the war, settled near South Charleston, West Virginia, and had three children; Gary, David and Carol.

While working at a hospital, Ruth also took classes in education. After Vernon’s job transferred the family to New Jersey, she received a degree in education and taught high school biology. In 1971, they were transferred to Houston, Texas, and Ruth returned to nursing at Houston’s Medical Center. In 1973, Vernon passed away from cancer at age 49. Ruth remarried in 1979, and retired from MD Anderson Cancer Hospital in 1994.

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Ruth, known for her genuine compassion, generosity and kindness towards others, was eager to help those who faced challenging situations. She enjoyed organizing family photos and creating albums of family memories for each of her children. She also collected many articles on subjects related to parenting, psychology, science and politics which she would meticulously file and share with her children. Ruth took up learning Spanish on her own and traveled to Europe and Asia with her children and grandchildren.

In 2010, Ruth moved into an independent living complex near Carol and was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. She began living with Carol in 2013 and was lovingly cared for during the day by her caregiver, Kathleen Moore, the last four years of her life.

Ruth died peacefully at home with her three children Gary Paul, David Paul and Carol Sullivan by her side. She is also survived by daughters-in-law Sherry Paul and Daisy Gin, and six grandchildren, Gary B. Paul (wife Tamara), Sean-Paul Sullivan (wife Amy), Marshall Sullivan (wife Theresa), Noah Paul-Gin, Chelsea Sullivan, and Jenna Paul-Gin. Ruth also had seven great-grandchildren, Benjamin, Timothy and Jonathan Paul, Sean-Price and Luke Sullivan, Audrey and Olivia Sullivan.