01 Oct 30 Day Challenge Day 30
Day 30 is Ruth Dossett, 12×12 oil on wood panel. This is my Grandma Ruth. We called her Grandma G when we were young. She was the Matriarch of the family. Grandma was the sweetest lady ever and loved and was dedicated to our family and especially the grandkids. She taught us piano out of her house and directed us in children's chrior at church, she was the director of our CCD program at St. Dorothy's. She was involved in everything we did. Every year she would help all of us grand kids put on a play for our parents. The plays I remember the most were Annie & The sounds of Music. After I had my spiritual conversion in 1992. She was one of the people that I felt understood me. We both had a deep love for the Catholic faith, and we had an unspoken conection. When she and Carl had adoration from 11 to 12 at night, mine was from 12am to 1am. So every week we would see each other in passing and Adortation is what got me through the challenging College years and decerning what God wanted for my life. I felt Grandma and Grandpa were right there with me every week. We had the privelage of having them all at our wedding in Wisconsin, Grandma and Grandpa, My Mom, Grandma Butz, Bobci, Cass' Grandma Eskine. Shorly after Ruth passed away, this was the last great memory Cass and I shared with her.
Here is a little more about her amazing life.
Ruth Marie Adelsperger Gutzwiller Dossett was born October 13, 1915, to Charles and Luella Adelsperger in Cincinnati, Ohio. She was the oldest of three children and had a sister Virginia and a brother Walter who survives them.
Ruth was an excellent student and loved her piano lessons. She graduated from St. Mary’s High School as valedictorian of her class and completed her Bachelor Degrees in Arts and Education Summa Cum Laude and Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Cincinnati. In 1934, at a dance at the neighborhood park pavilion, she met a handsome young man named Edmund Gutzwiller. They danced, they fell in love, and they were married November 21, 1940. They had four children: Martha, Ellen, Charles, and Clare. This family of six moved to California in the summer of 1963. In 1973, Ed passed away.
Ed and Ruth enjoyed the friendship of Carl and Eleanor Dossett long before life's passages allowed the two widowed friends to fall in love and marry. Ruth and Carl’s marriage on June 14, 1981, give them a family of six with the addition of Carl 's daughters, Phyllis and Julie. Over the years, 15 grandchildren and 14 great-grandchildren became her greatest joy.
Ruth took an active part in her parish, St. Dorothy's Catholic Church. She taught grade school there, headed the CCD program for 18 years, led the children's choir, and continued to teach until she was hospitalized. Ruth and Carl's ecumenical spirit blended not only their families but also their Catholic and Protestant faiths, which each have used to enrich the other's faith. Together, they were featured in the cover story article in the January/February issue of the Glendoran Magazine entitled “Philanthropists All Year Round,” and together they received the Ruth Harper award for service to seniors and the Gene Beck with Humanitarian Service Award.
After a brief illness, Ruth died peacefully on March 7, 2001. We will miss her. Her sparkling blue eyes and smile will remain in our memories as a reminder of her friendliness, her thoughtfulness, and her love of family and fellow man.
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