Perspectives Magazine: Spring 2011 - Presbyterian Homes & Services

History Tucked Away
A family’s discovery reveals a legacy of dedicated service
In the days after Ruth Omundson died in July
2010, her son, Bob, was finishing the bittersweet
task of going through her personal belongings.
It’s a grown child’s rite of passage brimming with
emotions and memories.
ruth omundson on her
90th birthday in 2008
Among the blouses, shoes, combs and
bills, bob discovered a cache that opened
like a treasure. Random items sharing
one common thread - they were all from
Ruth’s years as an employee, volunteer
and resident of Presbyterian Homes
& Services. Some of the items carried
bob back to his childhood or reminded
him of events in Ruth’s life. Yet others
pulled back the curtain on his mother’s
character, revealing her impact on the
people she served in ways he had not fully
appreciated during her life. The items,
along with the memories of Ruth’s family,
tell her story.
Four badges bearing Ruth’s name
document her employment history and
positions at the Presbyterian Home. She
first came to work in 1957 as a kitchen
assistant to the cook, her sister, Mae
unbaugh when “the Home” had 26
residents. Ruth soon became supervisor
of the kitchen, dining room, laundry and
housekeeping. She was promoted to
Food Services Director, but her service
was not limited to the kitchen. “Mom
brought residents’ laundry home,” bob
remembered. “Some didn’t like how their
things would get mixed up. So she’d bring
it home and wash it for them.”
After her husband retired in 1969, Ruth
worked as volunteer coordinator and
administrative assistant. She retired in
1972 but volunteered for many years after.
Her daughter-in law, Michelle, looked back
knowing that “Ruth saw people with needs
that were not being met in other ways and
she’d quietly take care of them.”
Ruth’s stenography notebook provides a
behind-the-scenes chronicle of important
occasions at the Home. The annual spring
Open House events, the 1966 dedication
of Putnam Chapel, the groundbreaking
in 1971 of the newton Wing are recorded
in detail including menus, flowers and
volunteer assignments. Ruth’s
handwritten notes read like a “Who’s
Who” of the Home’s history. Mses. West,
breidenbach, Hagstrom, and Kennedy,
wives of the first leaders were among
those she captured to appear at her tea
table and in her notebook.
Ruth received and stashed away a
collection of cards, letters and poems
filled with words of appreciation from
residents, staff and volunteers. none is
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SPRInG 2011