Aunt

 

RUTH LEVINE

    Ruth Levine was born on July 8, 1929 in Cranesville, PA. She was the youngest child of Louis and Tillie Levine. A year or so later, the family moved into nearby Erie, PA. Ruth was seven years younger than her twin brothers, Herman and Sam and was 12 years younger than her oldest sibling, Bernie. Ruth was the baby of the family and throughout her life her siblings and her parents always made sure she was taken care of. This is not to say, however, that she was a damsel in distress. Ruth was a strong, independent, capable woman who lived her life as she seemed fit. She fought her own battles and took responsibility for her own actions. 

 Family house in Cranesville

     Ruth graduated from Academy High School in Erie, PA in 1947. She was named to the National Honor Society and participated on the debate team. She was also president of a student organization known as the Girl Reserves. It looked to be a club for girls that mixed social activities and educational programs within the school but also other schools in the area. She was one of 6 commencement speakers at her graduation ceremony.

 

     Ruth did not attend college. She did have excellent secretarial and organizational skills and worked as an administrative assistant most of her life. Still living in Erie in 1951 she was working for the Jewish Community Welfare Council and received a glowing recommendation regarding her two years of employment there. She was preparing to leave the nest and followed her sister, Helen and two of her brothers to the southwest Ohio cities of Dayton and Cincinnati. Helen eventually settled in Philadelphia and in 1956 Ruth followed her to the city of brotherly (or in this case sisterly) love. Shortly after her arrival in Philly, Ruth began working for Botany 500. It was a prestigious men’s clothing manufacturer and Ruth was secretary to Mr. Daroff. In the mid 70’s, Botany 500 fell on hard times and filed for bankruptcy. Ruth procured employment at Thomas Jefferson Hospital working as an administrative assistant to Dr. Simon Kramer who was a leader in the field of radiation therapy oncology. Jefferson Hospital was located just a short bus ride down Walnut street from Ruth’s apartment in the Dorchester on Rittenhouse Square. She stayed with this job until her retirement. She then worked part time in city hall in the department that gave tours of the city hall complex. She also helped her friend, Ellen who owned a travel agency. My cousin Paul told me a story that exemplified her competence as an administrative assistant. Paul lives in Oregon and was in the Philadelphia area to visit his parents. They were all sitting in Helen and Murray’s apartment, Ruth included. Paul had booked an early morning flight on Monday and said that he was considering getting a hotel near the airport for Sunday night. Ruth pulled a piece of paper out of her pocket with the names of three hotels near the airport along with how many vacancies, the room rates, and the triple A rates. She anticipated his needs. 

     Ruth loved living in Philadelphia and took advantage of all of the cultural amenities. She attended concerts and theater productions. She visited most of the museums in the area and even took in the occasional sporting event. She loved the Eagles and Arlene and I joined her at her apartment to watch the speeches of all of the Eagle’s coaches and players after their great victory in Super Bowl LII. We had just attended the victory parade and stopped to see her and to warm up after a cold 6 hours on the pavement along the Benjamin Franklin Parkway. 

    Another reason that Ruth loved the area was because of the close proximity to Levitown where her sister, Helen lived with her husband, Murray Ringold. Helen and Murray had three children, Paul, Judy, and Steve. Ruth was a surrogate mother to the three of them. She baby sat for them and they spent time with her in her apartment in Philly. The bond between the Ringold kids and Ruth was extraordinary. I spoke to each of them to get their insights to prepare this bio. 

 

     Much to her mother’s chagrin, Ruth never married. My grandmother never publicly lamented that she had an unmarried daughter but she never gave up hope that Ruth would someday find a man. When I came back to Erie after my freshman year at University of Pittsburgh I went to visit my grandparents. My grandmother pulled me aside and asked if I had met any older boys. Since I had friends in my dorm that were juniors and seniors I told her yes. She then said “For Ruth?” Paul and Judy both told me that Ruth did have a boyfriend for a short time but nothing ever came of it. 

     Ruth was altruistic to a fault. She went out of her way to make sure everybody was taken care of. She never let us pay for a meal that we shared with her. One time I did sneak my credit card to the server before Ruth had a chance to. I was so proud of that moment that I sent an email to all of my cousins to let them know of my success. Once, when she came to Erie to visit, we were sitting around at my grandparent’s house and her brother, Sam, who was sitting, doing nothing, asked her to make him a cup of tea. She hopped right up and went into the kitchen to boil some water. We were all aghast at his request and told her she shouldn’t wait on her brothers like that. She just shrugged her shoulders and prepared the tea for Sam. Ruth had a lot of her mother in her. She also inherited the stubbornness and social activism of her father. Ruth moved into the Watermark. It was an independent living facility in Philadelphia and she hired a wonderful woman named Sylvia as a caretaker. Ruth wanted to treat Sylvia to lunch one day and was told by the Watermark that Sylvia was not allowed to eat in the dining room because she was a caretaker. Ruth almost exploded at this rule and refused to eat in the dining room after that. 

     More than one person who married into the family has said that nobody made them feel so welcome and such a part of the family more than Ruth did. To Ruth, all of her brother’s spouses were sisters to her and she treated them that way. The same is true about all of her nieces and nephews. All of our spouses felt like Aunt Ruth was their own aunt because of the way Ruth treated them. 

Ruth's 90th birthday celebration
 

     Ruth passed away in March of 2020. It wasn’t Covid related but the pandemic prevented anybody from traveling to Philly for her funeral. A year after her death, still saddled by quarantine protocols, all of her nieces and nephews got together via Zoom to memorialize this beautiful soul. We told stories and shared a photo slideshow. We miss her a lot but our memories of her make us smile and we strive to emulate her humanitarianism.