Dr. Ruth Warner Towne

IN MEMORIAM
Dr. Ruth Warner Towne
(JUNE 19, 1917 - APRIL 3, 1998)

Dr. Ruth Warner Towne ('39), 80, of Kirksville, Mo., died Friday morning, April 3, 1998 in Kirksville, Mo.

She was born June 19, 1917 in Kirksville, Mo., the daughter of Frank Warner and Mary Elizabeth McCoy Towne.

She was preceded in death by her father on January 1, 1974 and her mother on November 23, 1980.

Dr. Towne was raised in Kirksville attending the Kirksville public schools and graduating as the valedictorian of her class at Kirksville High School. Education was always a focal point for Dr. Towne, both as a student and as a teacher. She was the first honor graduate of Northeast Missouri State Teachers College in 1939. She studied under a curator's scholarship and graduate assistantship at the University of Missouri-Columbia, where she earned a master's and a doctorate in history. She returned to Kirksville and from 1944 to 1951 she was an instructor of history at the Kirksville Senior High School. In 1952, she returned to Northeast Missouri State University to pursue her college teaching career. She was appointed Delta Zeta College Chapter Director in 1953, a position which she held until 1987. From 1987 to the present she served as faculty advisor for the Delta Zeta sorority, a cherished role she continued until the time of her death.

From 1954-67 she was editor of the Nemoscope, Northeast's alumni magazine. From 1983-88, she served as Dean of Graduate Studies. She was the author of several historical pieces and books, having received the State Historical Society of Missouri's best review article award in 1990. In March of 1998, her last book, Myron Smith Towne and the Meaning of Success, was published.

In 1992, Dr. Towne presented Northeast Missouri State University with a gift of four bronze bells and a carillon for the Pickler Memorial Library clock tower in memory of her parents. In 1994, she was honored by Truman State University as Alumna of the Year. On April 4, just one day after her passing, Truman again recognized her as co-recipient of the first President's Leadership Award. Dr. Towne officially retired in 1988 with the titles Professor Emeritus of History and Dean Emeritus of Graduate Studies and was honored by the Division of Social Science with the establishment of the Kohlenberg/Towne Lectureship. She continued to teach part time until 1993 but pursued scholarly endeavors and remained active at the University on a daily basis until the time of her death.

She was an active member of the First United Methodist Church of Kirksville, where she was the Church Historian and was instrumental in establishing the pre-vious Archives and History Display on the main floor of the church and the present Archives and Historical Room on the second floor. She contributed regular articles to the church newsletter and was a member of the Administrative Council of the church and was a Sunday School teacher. She served on the Missouri East Annual Conference Committee of Archives and History for many years. In 1984, she published From These Beginnings, a history of the First United Methodist Church of Kirksville. She also had a special love for and commitment to the United Methodist Women, having served as secretary and recently as assistant secretary of the Margaret Circle.

She was a long time member of the Truman State University Lyceum Committee and a member of the Organization of American Historians; American Association of University Women; State Historical Society of Missouri; Adair County Historical Society; Missouri Methodist Historical Society; and the Historical Society of the United Methodist Church. Those who wish to express their sympathy in the form of a contribution, may do so to the

Dr. Ruth Warner Towne Scholarship Fund through the Truman State University Foundation.

"In 1952, Ruth Towne became a member of the Division of Social Science at Northeast Missouri State Teachers College. She was assigned an office in the Social Science Division space in the old Laughlin Building. There were three professors in the office. One of the three was Dr. Gilbert Kohlenberg. Ruth always considered Gilbert like the brother she did not have. She soon became a part of our extended family and remained so for the next 46 years." "Ruth never missed a Lyceum Program until the last one this year. We always sat together so now I feel very lonesome after all these years. She was dedicated to Lyceum. Members of Delta Zeta served as ushers. Gilbert always felt her dedication to the organization of the Lyceum was why it was a success and so enjoyable."

- Mary Jane Kohlenberg ('56)

"I was touched in reading through her resumes that she would list her service to the University as Professor of History, Dean of Graduate Studies, member of the Lyceum Committee, Delta Zeta advisor and 'any other assignment given to me by the administration.' This truly was how she approached her service to the University, always willing and certainly able to handle any responsibilities given to her."

- President Jack Magruder ('57)

"Ruth Warner Towne is a shining example of that now-disappearing group of academics who have made American higher education as strong and vibrant as it has been through their sacrifice and their commitment to that which is best in public education. They have given of themselves, totally, as educators, scholars, writers, models to be emulated....Dr. Towne epitomizes this and at the same time is the personification of the history, life, excellence of Northeast Missouri State University."

- Dr. Robert V. Schnucker
Show Me Missouri, Vol. 2, 1993

"The entire chapter would agree that Dr. Towne expected nothing less than the best from all of us. She was a constant motivator for Delta Zeta. No one believed in us more than she did."

- Sarah Lutter ('99)
President, Delta Zeta Sorority

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