RUTH FRANCES DORAN

Ruth Doran was the twelfth child, eighth daughter, of David Daniel and Sarah Jane Pickard Doran born on August 25, 1913 at 112 1/2 Evergreen in DuBois, PA. Rose Florence and Ruth Frances were the only set of twins of the Doran's 15 children. Rose, the older twin, was initially more robust than Ruth, but died on September 13th. Ruth was baptized at St. Catherine's Churchin DuBois, Sept. 7. with Ralph Allen & Teresa Rogers as godparents. In the 1915? Doran family picture, Ruth is second from the right; in the 1917? Doran family photograph Ruth is wearing a bow and is in front of her mother to the left. She was often teased because her initials were the same as Rural Free Delivery.

A few years after the twin's birth, the family moved to Pittsburgh, PA (c.1916/17). Ruth attended St. Paul's Cathedral School. She was a bright student, but missed at least a year of schooling because of illness (rheumatic fever -- St. Vitus Dance). Ruth later took secretarial training, becoming a proficient clerk/typist/stenographer. She worked at Horne's Department store in Pittsburgh (1935-1938), then the Provident Trust (Jan 41-May 42?).

At 5518 Howe Street, Ruth often worked on jigsaw puzzles in the living room. She had an ear for music and could play any tune on the piano (with chords and harmony), but never learned to sight read music. Following her dad's death (2/1942) & the bank's repossession of the house, Ruth & her sister, Helen, placed the Howe Street furniture in storage. Ruth moved down to Baltimore to live with her sister Jean (my mom) & Bob Halli. She obtained work at the Glenn L. Martin Company, where my father worked as an aeronautical structural engineer. Ruth worked first as a clerk inMartin's Development Section; then as a typist and Senior Clerk in the Aerodynamics Department. It was at the Martin Company that she met and dated her life long friend, Bob Beery.

In 1949, after living with the Halli's for a number of years, Ruth, her brother Bill, and mother Sarah moved into their own second floor apartment, at 4627 Kavon Avenue. There Ruth listened to her beloved opera records while knitting suits, shawls, afghans and sweaters. She was fascinated with Japanese and Chinese art and loved to go to the museums downtown. Sarah cooked the meals on Kavon Avenue, & Ruth cleaned up. I inherited Ruth's clipped recipe collection (probably, like mine, rarely used).

Ruth never learned to drive, so Bob Beery was the patient chauffeur, bringing Grandma Doran and Ruth over to Coventry Rd for family gatherings. Ruth frequently babysat my brother & me, and helped with housecleaning. Or she came just to chat and listen to the Orioles on the radio. She and Bob Beery travelled widely. We all enjoyed seeing Bob's slides (Sturbridge Village, Knotts Berry Farm, etc.) afterwards. The family wondered why they didn't marry since they obviously enjoyed being together, going to concerts, plays, & movies and dining at nice restaurants. I guess both were set in their ways.

In the 1950's Ruth and her Mom travelled to Denver, Colorado to check on Sarah's sister, Margaret Pickard Lloyd Martin, who was getting senile. Family was all important. Each summer (from the mid 1950sİmid 1960s) she spent two weeks with the Halli's and other Dorans swimming, playing shuffleboard, & reading at the Kokolias Kottages in Matamoras, PA, our favorite Delaware River fishing spot. When she slept, she snored.

After her mother's 1960 heart attack & subsequent move to our house (641 Coventry Road), Ruth found another apartment (5422 Belair Rd.) closer to transportation and just across from a public library. Ruth, like her mom, loved to read. Piles of novels and biographies would sit beside the couch and she would read them all. She patiently taught me how to knit, crochet, and needlepoint. Often we would sit at Coventry Road's kitchen table playing cards (500 Rummy & 500). Ruth would sit there doing her nails, catching up with family gossip with her mom and sister, Jean.

Following downsizing at the Martin Company, Ruth, in the 1970's, worked for the Middlestadt Machine Company. Her last job was for a the bank, Mercantile Trust (Charles St).

In 1971, Ruth had a mastectomy, followed by a struggle with nasty rheumatoid arthritis. It became debilitating. In the early 1980s she was in and out of hospitals for treatment. After a stroke in October 1984, Ruth was placed in Long Green Nursing Home (Baltimore) and died at Good Samaritan Hospital, on October 29, 1984. She is buried beside her brother, John, in the Gardens of Faith Cemetery, Baltimore, MD.