Sylvia Ruth DeWitt (1997)

BURR, CHAPMAN, DEWITT

Posted By: Treva Patterson (email)
Date: 5/29/2006 at 16:00:20

The Winterset Madisonian
Winterset, Iowa
Wednesday, February 5, 1997

Ruth DeWitt, Alaska

Ruth DeWitt, 90, of Sitka, Alaska, died of complications of pneumonia on Feb. 1, 1997 at the Pioneer Home where she had been living since 1987.

She was born Feb. 19, 1906 to David S. and Minnie DeWitt near Patterson. She graduated from Patterson High School in 1925. In the 1950s, she moved to Alaska where she was employed by the Alaska Native Health Services and later by the U.S. Government and private hospitals.

She was preceded in death by her parents; one brother; and one sister.

Surviving relatives include one sister, Alice Chapman of Madrid; one brother, Richard S. DeWitt of Indianola; three nephews and two nieces, including Donald S. DeWitt of Winterset.
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The Daily Sitka Sentinel
Sitka, Alaska
Friday, February 07, 1997
Page 3, Column 6

Services for Ruth DeWitt Set Sunday

Memorial services for Sylvia Ruth DeWitt, 91, will be held at 1 p.m. Sunday at the Pioneers Home Chapel. The Rev. James H. Drury will officiate.

Miss DeWitt died Feb. 1 at the Pioneers Home, where she had been living since 1987.

She was born Feb. 19, 1906, in Winterset, Iowa, to David and Minnie (Mitchell) DeWitt. She grew up on the family’s farm, where, being one of the older girls, she helped raise her younger siblings.

She was graduated from Patterson High School in 1925 and attended classes at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa.

She moved to California in 1948, where she worked in a tuberculosis sanatorium at Olive View. She came to Alaska with relatives in 1954, and began work as a nurse’s aide with the Public Health Service. She served in many communities around the state, including Mt. Edgecombe, Anchorage, the Aleutians and Nome.

She worked for five years in Juneau at St. Ann’s Hospital and then for Bartlett Memorial Hospital before she retired.

She never married, but kept in close contact with her brothers and sisters and her nieces and nephews. After she moved to the Pioneers Home, she quickly became involved in many activities. She enjoyed visiting with people, and always gave new residents a warm welcome.

She also became a regular “tour guide” during the summer months, greeting visitors, showing them the gardens and inviting them into the lounge area to chat.

She was especially fond of children, and welcomed every opportunity to entertain them by reading stories, doing crafts and playing games.

She loved the outdoors, and took long walks around town until arthritis began to limit her mobility.

She did not belong to a church “but she had a very deep faith, which was evident by her acts of kindness and charity throughout her life,” friends said.

Survivors include a sister, Alice Chapman, and a brother, Richard S. DeWitt, both of whom live in Iowa.

A brother, Rodney DeWitt, and a sister, Louise Burr, preceded her in death.