Ruth Newell

Ruth C. Newell, 93, who was active in both Cleveland, OH and Washington, DC community organizations, died on July 10, 2012. Mrs. Newell was a native of Gates Mills, OH and a resident of Potomac, MD. She was also a long-time summer resident of Cranberry Isles, ME and an active supporter of island activities. Mrs. Newell was a graduate of Bennett College in Millbrook, NY and received a Bachelor's of Science degree from Case Western Reserve University's College of Education. In addition to raising four children with her husband, Hal H. Newell, who predeceased her in 1998, her principal focus was helping other people. Mrs. Newell was elected to the board of the Vocational Guidance and Rehabilitation Service now Vocational Guidance Service in Cleveland, which had been founded by Cleveland women in 1890. She was instrumental in focusing VGS and its Sunbeam Shop on the production of clothing that would help disabled people enter the workplace. This was an important part of achieving the mission of VGS which is "Preparing people with barriers to employment for a brighter future." She was also very active in the Frontier Nursing Service currently known as the Frontier Nursing University in Wendover, KY which was the first organization in America to use nurses trained as midwives collaborating with a single medical doctor or obstetrician. In the late 1950s's Mrs. Newell was president of the Junior League of Cleveland. In 1968 she and her husband moved to the Washington, DC area, first living in Gaithersburg, MD and later Potomac, MD. Mrs. Newell was active in civic and community organizations in Washington where she was president of Chapter Three of the Capital Speakers Club of Washington, DC; and among her other philanthropic activities was the establishment, with her husband, of an Historic Preservation Endowment Fund for Colonial Williamsburg, VA. Mrs. Newell was the Tea Chairwoman for the annual Design Showcase House that benefitted the National Symphony. Mrs. Newell was a member of the Union Club Cleveland, Chagrin Valley Hunt Club Gates Mills, OH, Mayfield Country Club Cleveland, Washington Club, Congressional Country Club and University Club of Washington, DC. Mrs. Newell is survived by three of her children, Nancy N. Jones, Queens, NY; Morrison C. Newell, Tucson, AZ; Molly N. Singerling, Alexandria, VA; and her daughter-in-law, Sarah C. Newell, New York, NY. Also surviving Mrs. Newell are ten grandchildren and seven great grandchildren. Mrs. Newell's son, Hal H. Newell, Jr., husband to Sarah Newell, died in 2007. Memorial services will be held in Gates Mills, OH and Potomac, MD. The Gates Mills service will be at South Cemetery, Gates Mills, OH at 1:00 p.m. on Tuesday, July 31st with a reception to follow at the Chagrin Valley Hunt Club, 7620 Old Mill Road, Gates Mills, OH. The Potomac service will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Wednesday, August 1st with a reception to follow at Potomac Presbyterian Church, 10301 River Road, Potomac, MD. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests that those who wish to make a donation do so to a charitable organization of their choice in honor of Mrs. Hal. H. Newell.


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