HALF MOON BAY REVIEW -- She received the Charles D. Perlee Award for Distinguished Service in the Field of Humanities and Fine Arts Education in 1982, and also became the first female chair of the Humanities Department at San Francisco State University, where she taught from 1960 to 2003. It was there that she met Dr. Wayne Peterson, who became her life partner. With Wayne she traveled, read, dined and had wonderful adventures.
Ruth was revered by her students at SFSU; the greatest love of her life was teaching and mentoring. A former student who lives in El Granada recently remembered her as a beloved advisor who had a profound effect on his life and career. This was a common sentiment expressed over the years by many of her former students.