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Ruth Phillips Arent Anderson, 93, passed away February 14, 2016 in Corvallis, Oregon. Born in New York City on March 25, 1922, and raised on Riverside Drive and in Scarsdale, New York, Ruth attended Horace Mann School and graduated from Skidmore College in 1943. She went on to earn her Master's in Psychology from the University of Iowa and M.S.W. from the University of Denver, which enabled her to become a nationally renowned child psychologist and psychiatric social worker, author, speaker, and educator. She married Jacob (Jack) Arent (1926-1971), raised her four children and became head of the League of Women Voters for the state of Colorado, as well as a Civil Rights activist and a community organizer. Long after Jack’s passing, and following the passing of her husband Merton (Andy) Anderson (1918-1987), Ruth moved to Corvalis, OR, where she was on the board of ALL (Academy for Life Long Learning) for many years and was active in Altrusa, CARE, and The Raging Grannies. Ruth was an avid competitor and athlete and an Olympic medalist in swimming. She won two silver medals and a bronze medal in the 1942 Olympics, known as the Olympics of no record. Originally scheduled to take place in Berlin, due to the course of World War II, Olympic events were held in each participating country and times were compiled by the IOC. Ruth was a remarkable matriarch with a great capacity for love, a sharp mind, and an unfailing sense of adventure. She was a pillar of truth and support for those around her and touched many lives with her brilliant conversation, acerbic wit, her magnanimous charisma, inquisitive nature, and her palpable joy for life and all its possibilities. She loved human connection, with her family and with her friends, of whom she had many, including cherished best friends from her days as a school girl at Horace Mann. She adored summers on Hog Island in Maine, rooting for fresh blueberries, canoeing, and watching the sunset under sweet smelling balsam and white pine trees. Fittingly, she passed away on Valentine's Day as she loved love immensely, closely followed by chocolate. Ruth continued to travel, sketch, write poems and publish books into her nineties. She is mourned and survived by her four children Margaret, Sally, Bonnie, and Douglas and her six grandchildren. A celebration of her life will be scheduled for the end of March. In lieu of flowers, please make contributions in Ruth's name to the Southern Poverty Law Center, Planned Parenthood, or the Samaritan Evergreen Hospice in Albany, Oregon.

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Ruth Phillips Arent Anderson

March 25, 1922 - February 14, 2016