Ruth S. Gilkey

Ruth Slosser Gilkey died peacefully in her sleep on the morning of July 24. She was born on September 22, 1929 at Magee Hospital in Pittsburgh, PA, to Esther Thurston Slosser and Gauis Jackson Slosser. After attending Bellevue, PA, public schools, she went on to graduate with a BA in sociology from Allegheny College in 1951. On August 9, 1952 Ruth married William C. Gilkey, who was completing medical school at the time. Ruth was always dedicated to promoting social justice and while living in Philadelphia she worked as a social worker for the YWCA. In 1954 Ruth and Bill moved to Detroit where Bill completed his medical residency. Ruth and Bill started their family in Detroit, moving to Adrian, Michigan, in 1958 with their three children. Ruth continued to direct her prodigious energy in multiple directions as an active volunteer at the First Presbyterian Church of Adrian, as the Vice President of the Board of Family Counseling and Family Services, and as a member of AAUW and NAACP. She was also valued at Sienna Heights College as Associate Director of Continuing Education and Assistant Director of the Women’s Program. She and Bill had a fourth child in 1969. Ruth earned a Master’s Degree in Educational Psychology from the University of Michigan in 1978, after which she worked as a career counselor at Adrian College. Ruth was a member of the Lenawee County Community Mental Health Services Board, the Alpha Omega Sorority, and she was the President of the Docent program at the University of Michigan Museum of Art. She delighted in traveling the world, visiting six continents with Bill during the later years of their marriage. Her favorites were Orr’s Island, Maine, the French River in Ontario, Canada, and Tortola, British Virgin Islands. Ruth’s witty repartee was well known to her survivors: her husband of nearly 63 years, William C. Gilkey, and her four children: Lyn Drennan (John Drennan), John Gilkey (Stephanie Gilkey), Ann Gilkey (Jay Erickson), Laura Gilkey (Nick Bergman) and her grandchildren Katy (Scott), David, Lisa, Elizabeth, Sarah, Alex, Sam, Zoe, Josh, and Andy, and great-grandchild Lou. In honor of Ruth, there will be a gathering of family and friends Saturday, September 26, 2015, from 3:00 to 5:00 p.m. at Wagley Funeral Home in Adrian. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to Hospice of Lenawee or Doctors Without Borders. Online condolences and memories may be shared at www.WagleyFuneralHome.com.

Ruth S. Gilkey

September 22, 1929 - July 24, 2015