RUTH HARRISON RICHEY<\/p>\n
Ruth Richey \u2013 a life-long musician and teacher with a quick mind and \u201cahead of her times\u201d thinking \u2013 died Monday, May 30, at St. Peter\u2019s Hospital after a short illness. She was 91.<\/p>\n
Ruth was born July 12, 1919, in Deer Lodge, Montana, at the home of her parents, Ben and Alma Harrison. In addition to her mom and dad, she was preceded in death by her husband, Fred, and her son-in-law, Ron Leland of Helena.<\/p>\n
She is survived by her daughter, Barb Leland; three grandsons, Mark Leland and wife Linda Cleatus, Rob Leland and wife Eliesha Leland, and Scott Leland and wife Lisa Leland, all of Helena. Also surviving are four great-grandchildren: Tanaya, Ron, Kumari, and Jessie Leland of Helena. Her brother and sister-in-law, Ben and Bette Harrison of Clinton, Montana, also survive.<\/p>\n
Ruth talked fondly about growing up in Deer Lodge \u2013 roller skating around town, swimming at the pool, chumming around with friends, driving her little brother \u201ccrazy\u201d with her big-sister tortures. She graduated from Powell County High School, Valedictorian of her class, in 1936. After a year of working to earn money for school, Ruth entered Montana State University in Missoula (now, the University of Montana), as a Music Major. She was a member of Tri Delta Sorority, an organization she held dear all her life.<\/p>\n
After graduating in 1941, she headed to Dillon for a year of teaching, followed by a summer trip to southern California. The big-city atmosphere caught her fancy and she called home, telling her mom to \u201csend my clothes \u2013 I\u2019m staying\u201d. Shortly after arriving, she met Fred Richey on a blind date. Ruth and Fred were married three months later, on December 13, 1943.<\/p>\n
Daughter, Barb, was born in 1947. During Barb\u2019s growing-up years, Ruth spent time writing music, and had success with getting some songs published. She also was a substitute teacher.<\/p>\n
In 1966, Ruth and Fred moved to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where Ruth worked as a Program Director for an advertising agency, a job she truly loved.<\/p>\n
Following their retirement, the couple moved to Missoula, Montana, and then on to Helena, to be near Barb and her family. In the 1980s and 1990s, Ruth was a volunteer for the Reading for the Blind program, recording books on tape. She volunteered for the Literacy Council, teaching adults to read; and also was a reading tutor in grade schools in the Helena area. She was a member of the Big Sky Singers for a short time, followed by several years as a Helena Sweet Adeline. She entered the Sweet Adeline Arrangers\u2019 Program and won the Novice Arranger of the Year Award, with her arrangement of \u201cGet Me To The Church On Time\u201d.<\/p>\n
Ruth\u2019s mind remained quick and creative in her \u201cold age\u201d, even after breaking her hip during a vacation in Arizona two months ago. She was well enough by May 14th to be one of five Grizzly Alums honored at their 70th college reunion in Missoula.<\/p>\n
Public viewing for family and friends will be 5:30 \u2013 6:30pm on Thursday, June 2, at Retz Funeral Home, 315 E. 6th Avenue. Services are scheduled at Covenant United Methodist Church, 2330 E. Broadway, Helena, 11 a.m. on Friday, June 3. Burial will follow at Forestvale Cemetery, followed by a reception at the Leland home, 640 Stadler Road. To offer condolences to the family or share a memory of Ruth, please visit: www.retzfuneralhome.com.<\/p>\n","photo":"https:\/\/helenafuneralhome.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/1172767.jpg","youtube_video_url":"","family_email":"","family_first_name":"","family_last_name":"","event_title5":"","event_date5":"","start_time5":"","end_time5":"","location5":"","address5":"","city5":"","state5":"","zipcode5":"","event_title6":"","event_date":"","start_time6":"","end_time6":"","location6":"","address6":"","city6":"","state6":"","zipcode6":"","event_title7":"","event_date7":"","start_time7":"","end_time7":"","location7":"","address7":"","city7":"","state7":"","zipcode7":"","event_title8":"","event_date8":"","start_time8":"","end_time8":"","location8":"","address8":"","city8":"","state8":"","zipcode8":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/helenafuneralhome.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/case\/23330","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/helenafuneralhome.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/case"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/helenafuneralhome.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/case"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/helenafuneralhome.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23330"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/helenafuneralhome.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23330"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}