Ruth Glewen Perry, 103, died peacefully May 26, 2023.
She was born on July 17, 1919, in Fond du Lac, Wis., the daughter of Charles Glewen and Genevieve Neevil Glewen. In her first 22 years of life, Ruth faced three life- changing events: her mother’s death, the Great Depression and World War II. Those events made her stronger as she surmounted difficulties and provided a foundation for her many years of community service in Manitowoc.
Her mother died of acute leukemia when she was six, and she had to shoulder many responsibilities as she was growing up. Like so many of her generation, Ruth endured hardships during the Great Depression, working hard to milk cows and do many other chores before attending a one-room school.
In 1939, she graduated from Waupun High School and became the first person in her family to attend college. After going to Central College in Pella, Iowa, for two years, Ruth transferred to Rush Presbyterian School of Nursing in Chicago in September 1941, three months before the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Because Presbyterian Hospital sent a unit of doctors, nurses and other medical staff to help the military during World War II, Ruth and other student nurses took on big responsibilities. As a first-year nursing student, Ruth functioned as a hospital head nurse at night. After graduating from Presbyterian School of Nursing, she worked as a visiting nurse in the inner city for the Chicago Department of Health.
On Sept. 16, 1944, she married Dr. Thomas Kirk Perry, and the couple had five children over the next decade while Tom worked as a general practitioner and later orthopedic surgeon in California and Madison. Ruth, Tom and their children relocated in 1955 to Manitowoc, where Tom started his own orthopedic practice. Ruth was instrumental in establishing the city’s first orthopedic clinic, including supervising construction of the initial building at 501 N. 10th Street. She also was in charge of managing the office for many years.
During her more than 60 years as a Manitowoc resident, Ruth had many leadership and volunteer roles for non-profit organizations. Family members and friends remember Ruth’s generosity with her time, energy, skills and financial donations.
A member of the First Presbyterian Church in Manitowoc since 1956, she was a church elder and deacon as well as a representative for the regional Presbytery and the larger Synod in Wisconsin. In the mid-1970s, she was president of the Manitowoc County Medical Society Auxiliary and focused on giving educational scholarships.
In the early 1990s, Ruth was a board member and president of the Manitowoc County Family Service Association, which provided a wide range of services from hospice to home-care nursing and a day program for Alzheimer’s patients. She was a board member of the Salvation Army of Manitowoc County for several years.
Ruth was a board member of the Domestic Violence Center in Manitowoc County (now called InCourage), for nine years helping lay the groundwork for a large expansion of the safe house and other facilities. She was a recognized 50-year member of Manitowoc’s P.E.O. that provides scholarships for women.
An active environmentalist, Ruth was a financial guarantor to Woodland Dunes Nature Center and Preserve between Manitowoc and Two Rivers when it was started in the 1980s. For many years, she was a volunteer, taking children on hikes to explain the plant and animal species in the center’s forest, prairies and wetlands.
Ruth was passionate about the outdoors. She hiked some of the highest mountains in Rocky Mountain National Park during family vacations in Colorado and went on several international Audubon Society trips to view birds and other wildlife.
Family members and friends remember her adventurous spirit and her vigor. Ruth was often seen riding her bicycle to do errands around Manitowoc as well as taking early morning bicycle rides when weather permitted. Ruth belonged to a bicycle group that did long-distance rides. For many summer weeks, she spent time at the family’s cabins in Ellison Bay on the Door Peninsula.
She is survived by her five children: Robin L. Lingo (and her husband Louis), Edgewater, Fla.; Charles N. Perry, Manitowoc; Janin S. Perry, Dallas; Thomas R. Perry (and his wife Susan), Manitowoc; and Mark J. Perry, Manitowoc; nine grandchildren: Dannyn Leyendecker, Calan Leyendecker Brennan Mattes, Edward Perry, Sophie Schwartz, Norah Harding, Thomas J. Perry, Lisa Perry and Karen Perry; 13 great grandchildren and two great-great-grandchildren; two sisters and a brother, Donna Henker (and her husband Dave), Mary Vander Kooi (and her husband Carl), and Vance Glewen (and his wife Sheri).
She was preceded in death by her parents, Charles and Genevieve Glewen; her husband, Thomas; her brother, Earl Glewen; her stepmother, Catherine Glewen; her sister, Joyce Buwalda; and her brother, David Glewen.
Memorial services for Ruth will be held at 11 a.m. June 15, 2023, at Grace Congregational United Church of Christ, 2801 Garfield St., Two Rivers. Visitation will be held at the church from 10:00 a.m. until the time of services at 11:00 a.m. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made Woodland Dunes Nature Center and Preserve, Two Rivers: or another charity of choice.
The Lakeshore Family Funeral Home, Pfeffer location is assisting the family. Online condolences may be expressed by visiting www.lakeshorefamilyfuneralhomes.com
