Mary Ruth (Odell) Barton, housewife, mother, and mentor, passed away on March 30, 2013, after a full life of 96 years.
Mary Ruth was born in Peoria, Illinois in 1916, the daughter of Jay Geddes and Ruth Esther (Anicker) Odell. She was raised in St. Paul, MN, attended University High School, and studied history at the University of Minnesota. Upon graduation in 1939, she was proud to be a member of the Mortar Board.
Mary Ruth married Roger Wesley Barton, her classmate from the University, in 1941. They were together for 44 years until his death in 1985. Although beginning their marriage at the outset of World War II, Roger found his place in the Navy as an electronics officer, and the couple was luckily housed together at bases in Portland, Maine and Trinidad. Their first two daughters, Kittie and Ann, were born during the wartime service.
Afterwards, the family settled in Aurora, Illinois, where Roger began an international business career with the Stephens-Adamson Company, and the family expanded. In addition to raising six children, Mary Ruth had opportunities to join Roger for trips in Europe and South America, which fueled her interest in history and politics. Mary Ruth was a member of the League of Women Voters and a campaigner with the Illinois Republican party.
Mary Ruth was an outdoorsman, starting with childhood trips to Lake Vermilion and continuing well into her 90s at the vacation home she shared with Roger’s family in Lutsen. For four generations of the Barton family, and with many close friends in Cook County, she shared her love of the independent life along Lake Superior, as well as her skills at gardening, canoeing, skiing, and shooting.
Roger and Mary Ruth moved to Ithaca, New York in 1971, where Roger worked with the Morse Chain Division of Borg Warner Corp. Ithaca was a time of transition for the couple, with graduations, marriages and eventually Roger’s retirement in 1983. Mary Ruth, however, became active in the spiritual and academic life of students at Cornell University, making her home available after Roger’s death as a place of retreat and discussion, especially for women friends of the Campus Crusade for Christ.
In 1997, Mary Ruth purchased her brother David’s home along the Pacific in San Diego, California. For her final years she shared the home with her grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Most mornings she could be found walking the park with Peggy Howell, co-founder of FOCAS animal shelter, along with a pack of rescued canines, on leash of course.
Mary Ruth leaves behind a legacy of elegance, faith, and love. She is survived by her children: Kittie Barton Frantz, Pasadena, California; Ann Wade Barton, Evanston, Illinois; Mary Barton Nees, Johnson City, Tennessee; Laura Barton Williams, Tustin, California; Roger Westwood Barton, Afton, Minnesota; John Jay Barton, Ithaca, New York; as well as 13 grandchildren and 22 great-grandchildren.
A memorial service will be held on April 16 in San Diego, California. Her ashes will be interred at Lakewood Cemetery in Minneapolis at 10 a.m. on April 26. In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to the Rancho Coastal Humane Society of Encinitas, California or to the Campus Crusade for Christ, c/o Stephanie Betts of Ithaca, NY.
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