From Ruth, 1937 - 1944

Ruth was born June 23, 1919 in Denver, Colorado and is the older sister of Elmer F Kern Jr. She graduated from Proviso High School in 1937 and attended Dodd College for a few years. She moved with her family when they moved from Maywood, Illinois to Van Nuys, California. After Elmer's death, they moved to the San Diego area. She never married or had children, but instead worked her entire life and saved money in honor of her brother. Found in her obituary, she started her career with Pacific Bell in 1946 and retired in 1979. After retirement, she owned and operated a store in College Grove Shopping center and devoted her free time to raising money for scholarships. She was president of the San Diego County Citizens' Scholarship Foundation, the found of Dollars for Scholars, the Mesa College Foundation and National Business and Professional Women's Club, a member of the Angels of Aseltine, supported Aseltine School for childen with disabilites, and served as the Peninsula Chamber of Commerce's first female president. Upon her death on June 10, 2010, she bequeathed half of 2 million dollars to Purdue's Mechanical Engineering Department in honor of Elmer F. Kern Jr's sacrifice, thus beginning the Elmer F. Kern Jr. BSME 1943 Memorial Scholarship.