Ruth Jakubauskas

Ruth Carolyn Friz Jakubauskas, 86, of Fort Collins, passed away July 17 after a short illness. She died peacefully surrounded by family. Ruth always said how blessed and thankful she was to have been in this life and to have had such a wonderful husband, family, children, and friends. Ruth lived every day to the fullest, with an optimistic attitude that inspired everyone she met. In every act of her life she thought of others first. Ruth was born April 5, 1925 in Oak Park, Illinois, the first child of Theodore and Emma Friz, and was a beloved big sister to her brothers, Carl and Ralph, as well as part of a large extended family that was close. As a child, Ruth enjoyed playing baseball with her family and organizing neighborhood plays. She attended York High School in Elmhurst, Illinois, and with the outbreak of WWII, was eager to become an army nurse. She attended Presbyterian Hospital School of Nursing in Chicago and became an R.N. Although the war ended before she could serve, there was a shortage of nurses and she was in charge of an entire ward of patients at the age of 19. She went on to nurse iron lung patients, mainly children with polio, and participated in the first polio vaccination program that eventually eradicated that disease. She then attended the University of Michigan School of Public Health and received her B.S. degree. After graduation, she became a public health nurse and rose to become Assistant Nursing Director for the Madison, Wisconsin, Department of Public Health. Ruth met the love of her life, Edward Jakubauskas, a graduate student in the PH.D program at the U. of Wisconsin and they were married in August of 1959. They had 52 joyous, adventure-filled years together and a marriage many aspire to. They had 4 children, Caroline (Curt Marwitz), Marilyn (Bob Edwards), Mark (Sara Taliaferro), and Eric (Kelsey), with whom they shared their love of travel, exploring most of the US and later, overseas. In addition to raising 4 children, Ruth was passionate about community involvement and volunteered in every place Ed's job as an academic took them. In Ames, Iowa, she helped to found the Open Door Senior Center and was president of the League of Women Voters. In Laramie, Wyoming, their next stop, she was a founding member of the Volunteer and Information Referral Center, and was active with the League of Women Voters there, as well as the ESL program in Albany County, the Girl Scouts, the Red Cross, St. Paul's United Church of Christ, and also managed to work part-time as a nurse for Albany County Family Planning. Leaving their beloved mountains for western New York, Ruth and Ed embarked on a new adventure at SUNY Geneseo, where he was college president. Besides her role as president's wife and entertaining, Ruth worked as a family planning nurse at the Women's Clinic at Geneseo, and as a school nurse in western New York schools. In addition, she coordinated Red Cross Blood Drives in Livingston County and did development for SUNY Geneseo. After Ed's retirement, they moved back to Colorado and settled in Fort Collins where they found a home with Plymouth Congregational United Church of Christ. Ruth was active in the Calling and Caring Program at the church, was a church deacon, and served on numerous committees. Her passion was teaching English as a Second Language and working with international students at CSU. She also served as a board member and secretary for CASA (Court-Appointed Special Advocates). She and Ed were active in the Newcomers program, Friendship Force, and the Aspen Club at Poudre Valley Hospital. She also loved sharing her love of Colorado and of travel by volunteering at the Colorado Welcome Center. In addition to her family, friends, and church, and community, Ruth loved travel! At the age of 60, she accompanied Ed on her first trip overseas, not to Paris or England, but to Soviet Russia, where she awoke on her first day abroad in a hotel overlooking Red Square. Over the next 20 years, Ruth and Ed's zest for travel took them to over 60 countries, including extended stays teaching in Lithuania and Latvia. They also hosted numerous international exchange students and friends from overseas. Ruth loved meeting people from other cultures and everyone became a friend. Ruth's legacy lives on in her grandchildren and great-grandchildren: Adam, Benjamin, and Alexander Marwitz; Mark and Jack Edwards; Allison and Cecelia Jakubauskas; Christian, Ana, Eve, and Zachary Jakubauskas. She has two great-granddaughters, Annabelle and Micah Marwitz. Though saddened by our loss, we know that Ruth is at peace and we cherish our memories of her. A Celebration of Life service will be held on Saturday, July 23, at 11 a.m. at Plymouth Congregational UCC, 916 W. Prospect Road, Fort Collins, with lunch immediately following. Memorial contributions may be made in her name to Plymouth Congregational UCC.