Ruth Helen “Pete” Richwerger nee Stevenson passed away on August 11, 2018 at Henry Ford Hospital in West Bloomfield, Michigan after a brief illness. She was 11 days shy of her 92nd birthday. Ruth Helen Stevenson was born in Worcester, Massachusetts on August 22, 1926 to Charles T. Stevenson and Beulah Stevenson, both of Nova Scotia.
Ruth, known to her friends as “Pete” or “Petey” met her husband, Louis Richwerger, at Wayne State University in 1946. Ruth obtained her BA from Wayne in 1947. She… Read More » and “Louie” were married on August 16, 1947.
After graduation, Ruth worked at the Wayne University Library from 1948 to 1951 and at the Wayne-Oakland Public Library from 1963 to 1966 while raising three children, Kurt, Carol and David. In 1966 Ruth went back to graduate school at the University of Michigan, where she obtained her Master’s Degree in Library Science in 1967 and her Teaching Certificate in 1969. Ruth then began her career as the West Bloomfield High School Librarian, from 1969 until her retirement in 1985.
After retirement she continued to work part-time at the West Bloomfield Public Library, until her full retirement in 1990. After her beloved husband Louis passed away in December, 1987, Ruth never remarried, but instead spent her time traveling to visit her children and grandchildren, who had moved to Brooklyn, New York; Sacramento, California and St. Thomas, Virgin Islands; and to visit her brother Charles and sister in law Josette in Manhattan. She also enjoyed travel to Europe, Alaska and other parts of the Caribbean.
Ruth was an avid reader of fiction and non- fiction books, and of magazines and newspapers. She loved politics, history, espionage and mystery. She regularly read the New York Times, The New Yorker Magazine, Time Magazine, Vanity Fair and Mother Jones, to name a few.
She was a film buff and enjoyed classical music and opera. Ruth was an active member of the Democratic Party and never missed an election. She was a member of Planned Parenthood, and the Anti-Defamation League.
Ruth was also a patron of the arts and a member of the Detroit Institute of Arts. Ruth is predeceased by her sisters, Kathleen (Kay) Keys, and Donna Stevenson, her sister in law Josette Stevenson, and her brother in law, Marvin Keys. She is survived by her brother, Charles T. Stevenson, Jr., her children Kurt Alan Richwerger, Carol Ann Rich and David Charles Richwerger, granddaughters Jennifer Arellano and Renee Low, daughters in law Janie Low and Ann M. Schneider, son in law Robert Kunkel, niece Kelly Prentiss and nephews Marvin and Michael Keys, great niece Jessica Prentiss and great nephews Ryan Prentiss, and Michael, Matthew and Marcus Keys, and many, many dear friends.
Ruth’s ashes will be laid to rest beside her beloved husband Louis at the Oakland Hills Memorial Gardens Cemetery. A Memorial Service will be held at the Oakland Hills Memorial Gardens Chapel located at 43330 W. 12 Mile Road (at corner of Novi Road), Novi on Monday October 8, 2018 from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm. In lieu of flowers Ruth has requested memorial contributions to the organizations she supported: Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc., Attn: Online Services, P.O. Box 97166, Washington, DC 20090-7166 or Anti-Defamation League, 605 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10158 or Detroit Institute of Arts, 5200 Woodward Avenue, Detroit, MI 48202, Contact Frank Castronova, Annual Fund Officer, re DIA’s Memorial Gift program, fcastronova@dia.org, 313.
833. 8624.
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