Ruth R. Blake

Private Graveside Services will be at Mount Moriah Cemetery South at 10507 Holmes Road, Kansas City, Missouri. She was preceded in death by her husband of 64 years, Russell, and her granddaughters, Kristen and Tiffany. She is survived by her children: Rhayma (Rodger Prestiy), Roger (Karen), Brian (Jennifer); grandchildren: Trisha Gross (Lee), Daniel (Meredith), Adam (Megan) and Cara; great-grandchildren, Emma and Ian Gross and Michael Blake.

Ruth graduated from high school at the precocious age of 14. She went on to the Metropolitan Community College where she met Russell and graduated with an Associate’s degree in 1943. She enrolled at the University of Missouri – Columbia and was the first woman to graduate with a B.A. in Economics in 1945. She continued working on her Masters in Economics but was not issued a degree due to the prejudices of the male professors. They thought women could not understand economics and would not allow her to complete her degree. Later, after marrying Russell in 1946, she went to the Kansas City Conservatory (now UMKC) and completed her Masters in Music in 1954.

After college, Ruth and Russell moved back to Kansas City, got married and moved in with her parents. She worked at the Junior Chamber of Commerce until her first child, Rhayma, was born. She and her mother taught piano lessons at night to help make ends meet. Shortly after Roger was born, they moved out of her parents’ house into a home of their own. Later, she would return the favor and took care of her father in her home until his death.

While raising a family and teaching piano lessons at night, she put her economic degree to work and started a real estate business, Blake Development Company, which propelled her into many civic activities in Kansas City and the State of Missouri. She also invested in RMI Media Productions and sat on the board and assisted with training videos from 1974 to 1983 when the company was sold. She was active in the National Association of Women Business Owners for many years, chairing the National Convention in 1983, and editing the newsletter from 1983-1986. She sat on KCP&L’s Consumer Advisory Planning Group which was focused on the building of the Wolf Creek Nuclear Power Plant.

Ruth took on many first-time roles for women including first woman on the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors (1977-1980), the first woman to chair many of the Chamber committees during that time, and the first and only woman on the Jackson County Economic Development Commission during her tenure (1976-1983). She also was a member of the Steering Committee for the Kansas City Area Economic Development Council (1980-1983). She was a founding member of the University of Missouri Alumni Alliance representing UMKC and serving as chairman from 1980-1982. Ruth was a lifelong member of the UMKC Alumni Association and served as its first woman President in 1968. She was also on the Board of Directors of the Women’s Chamber of Commerce from 1969 to 1972 where she held numerous positions and committee chairmanships.

She was instrumental in getting the Equal Rights Amendment passed in Missouri in 1982, serving as Chairman for the Tri-County Constitutional Amendment #1 and Region #3’s Build Missouri Committee of the Missouri Development Finance Board created by Gov. Kit Bond to assist with the ERA passing. The Governor also appointed her to the Missouri Corporation of Science and Technology where she held many positions from 1983 to 1991. Ruth continued her support of women through her involvement in P.E.O., a philanthropic educational organization for women.

Ruth was appointed to many boards and many positions from Chairman to President including the Kansas City Civic Orchestra (1971-1975), Metropolitan Community Colleges of Kansas City Foundation and Alumni Association (1983-1988), Cleveland Chiropractic College Community Advisory Board (1987-1992), Small Business Administration’s Kansas City District Advisory Council (1987-1993).

She worked with Dr. Elbert Cole who founded the first Shepherd’s Center in Kansas City and later founded Shepherd’s Centers of America to help older adults. She directed educational programming for the Adventures in Learning program from 1995 to 2007. And, in 2020, she received the inaugural Elbert Cole Lifetime Achievement Award from Shepherd’s Center during their 70 Over 70 Awards Benefit.

In 2004, highlighting her passion for civic service, she was awarded the President’s Lifetime Achievement Award for Volunteer Service by President George W. Bush. To be considered for this award, the person must have completed over 4,000 hours of volunteerism in their lifetime.

Ruth was called on to serve once again taking on the job of Business Manager at Central United Methodist Church from 1988 to 1994. She served on the Board of Trustees from 1998 to 2007. She was a member of the Mather Class at Central United Methodist Church and edited their newsletter for many years. Then, called back to work in 2007, she spent a couple of years organizing St. Paul’s School of Theology to get them back on solid footing.

While she had a love for business and civic endeavors, she also supported the arts in Kansas City. She taught music for over 35 years and was active for many years in Sigma Alpha Iota (SAI), an international music fraternity. From SAI, Ruth received the Sword of Honor in 1953, the Rose of Honor in 1968, and a Certificate of Merit for outstanding leadership in music in 1975. She was a lifelong member of the Kansas City Symphony. She and Russell enjoyed supporting theater as well with season tickets to the Kansas City Repertory Theater, Tiffany’s Attic and Waldo Astoria playhouses, now New Theater.

Family continued to be a major focus in her later years as Ruth and Russell attended grandchildren’s sporting, scouting, musical, and theater events. Her refrigerator was covered with pictures of the family while the freezer was stocked with homemade cookies for those who dropped by.

The family suggests memorial contributions may be made to the "Bartle Staff Scholarship Endowment Fund" in Ruth’s name at the Heart of America Council, Boy Scouts of America, 10210 Holmes Road, Kansas City, MO 64131.