Ruth Helen Wallbrunn's Obituary
Ruth Helen Wallbrunn, 91
Ruth Helen Wallbrunn, daughter of Valentine O. and Helen Rettig, was born November 6, 1924 in Chicago, IL and graduated from Hyde Park H.S. in 1942. Music was always an important part of Ruth´s life. She played the piano, often accompanying other high school musical friends. She loved to attend concerts of the Chicago Symphony and studied the bassoon with a member of that orchestra. She and Henry, her future husband, met while playing side by side in the University of Chicago Symphony Orchestra.
Ruth and Henry married May 6th, 1953 and moved to Gainesville, where he had taken on a teaching position at the University of Florida. She was the loving mother of four children and was also "Mom" to many others. Ruth was an excellent cook whose buffets at chamber music gatherings were legendary. She played bassoon in the UF Symphony Orchestra and accompanied countless violin pupils and Buchholz Band students on the piano over the years.
Ruth was an ardent nature lover. She enjoyed visiting the local nature preserves, going to see Sandhill cranes, and watching hummingbirds and other wildlife from her front window. She was very concerned about environmental issues, animal protection, and people in need. She was a volunteer at the Florida Defenders of the Environment and delivered Meals on Wheels for several years. She loved to shop at the 441 Farmer´s Market and chat with the vendors.
She was kind and generous with a wonderful sense of humor. Her children never ceased to be astonished at her amazingly acute sense of smell. Her gentle nature will be missed by all who knew her.
Ruth passed away peacefully on July 26th after suffering a stroke. She is survived by her brother Richard, her four children Merrilee, Peter, Gretchen and Rayna, granddaughter Tiffany Curry and great-grandchildren Casey, Joshua and Caleb, as well as her beloved enormous white cat George. She was preceded in death by her husband of 51 years, Henry. A private celebration of her life will be held at a later date.
Donations can be made in her name to Florida Defenders of the Environment, Alachua County Humane Society, or St. Francis House.
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