When Ruth Schlosser Boggs passed away on Feb. 28 at the age of 87, she left a four-generation family that will forever treasure a lifetime of great memories.
But they are not the only ones who will long remember the octogenarian’s legacy of community service, early childhood education, and a whole plethora of life lessons including how to lead a productive life through the golden years.
Because she had such a penchant for sharing and interacting with people all her life, her family is holding a “gathering to remember Ruth” at the Boggs Ranch on Highway 120 on Sunday, May 1, from 2 to 5 p.m. Family members are inviting and “(encouraging) people whose lives she touched to come” and share their memories of Ruth, and fellowship at the same time.
“She was devoted to families, ours included,” said daughter Ruthanne Bassett of her late mother’s extensive involvement with early childhood education.
Numbers support that fact. Besides being the mother of five children, Boggs served as the Community Leader of the Calla 4-H Club for 25 years. For 16 years, she took over the preschool portion of the Humpty Dumpty Preschool, the parent-participation preschool that she helped establish as part of the Manteca Adult School. A vital educational arm of the program was the weekly parenting class, which she taught for a year after Humpty Dumpty first opened. During those 16 years, she influenced literally hundreds of families.
As a former student commented, “Ruth was just so nurturing and fun as a role model and teacher. Mrs. Boggs will forever live on through the THOUSANDS of smiles that she helped to create by being such a sweet, beautiful, and caring person.”
Comments by other former Humpty Dumpty participating parents were just as effusive about how Boggs had touched their lives, as manifested in the following statements:
•“She saved my life.”
•“She helped us through some rough times.”
• “I don’t know what I would have done without her.”
Gathering and sharing, such as the one being planned by the family in Boggs’ memory, was one of the things that the family matriarch thoroughly enjoyed. Bassett said one of those gatherings that her mother “enjoyed a lot was meeting with her nursing school classmates.”
In fact, said Bassett, “She hosted a luncheon at her Bethany apartment in Ripon just a few months ago. They gathered many times over the past 65 years.”
Bethany Home in Ripon was Boggs’ home from 2004 until she died, but for the majority of her life, home was Manteca.
In 1945, Boggs graduated from the University of California-San Francisco School of Nursing where she completed her nursing studies. Prior to that, she attended UC Berkeley and participated in the UC Cooperative Housing Program and started her nursing studies.
Born in Woodland, Calif., she grew up in Zamora, Calif., and was active in 4-H. She graduated from Woodland High School in 1941.
After becoming a registered nurse, she worked as a nurse for four years including 18 months working in Saudi Arabia for ARAMCO where she met her husband, Wayne. The couple moved to Manteca in 1949.
In addition to her many years with Humpty Dumpty and 4-H, Boggs also helped many people through her other community involvements. She served as a trustee on the Calla Elementary School Board from 1951 to 1965, and served on the Delta College Early Childhood Education Advisory Board which was responsible for initiating the child care facility that now exists on campus. In addition, she was a lobbyist in Sacramento for the National Association for the Education of Young Children and was a volunteer at the Family Resource and Referral Center. During the time she was a member of the Central Valley Association for the Education of Young Children, she edited the group’s newsletter for more than 10 years and served on the concert committee.
She was also active in the National Association for the Education of Young Children, AAUW (American Association of University Women), and the Bo-peeps Women’s Auxiliary of the California Wool Growers Association. She also belonged to the Unitarian Church, the Friends of the Manteca Library, the Manteca Historical Society, and the Manteca Kindred Arts Concert Association. After she retired, she volunteered at the Manteca Library as a “huggable during (the children’s) story hours.”
Anyone interested in sharing memories of Ruth Boggs and to fellowship with the family and would like additional information can call (209) 823-1492. The Boggs family ranch where the gathering will take place is located at 11257 East Highway 120 in Manteca.
But they are not the only ones who will long remember the octogenarian’s legacy of community service, early childhood education, and a whole plethora of life lessons including how to lead a productive life through the golden years.
Because she had such a penchant for sharing and interacting with people all her life, her family is holding a “gathering to remember Ruth” at the Boggs Ranch on Highway 120 on Sunday, May 1, from 2 to 5 p.m. Family members are inviting and “(encouraging) people whose lives she touched to come” and share their memories of Ruth, and fellowship at the same time.
“She was devoted to families, ours included,” said daughter Ruthanne Bassett of her late mother’s extensive involvement with early childhood education.
Numbers support that fact. Besides being the mother of five children, Boggs served as the Community Leader of the Calla 4-H Club for 25 years. For 16 years, she took over the preschool portion of the Humpty Dumpty Preschool, the parent-participation preschool that she helped establish as part of the Manteca Adult School. A vital educational arm of the program was the weekly parenting class, which she taught for a year after Humpty Dumpty first opened. During those 16 years, she influenced literally hundreds of families.
As a former student commented, “Ruth was just so nurturing and fun as a role model and teacher. Mrs. Boggs will forever live on through the THOUSANDS of smiles that she helped to create by being such a sweet, beautiful, and caring person.”
Comments by other former Humpty Dumpty participating parents were just as effusive about how Boggs had touched their lives, as manifested in the following statements:
•“She saved my life.”
•“She helped us through some rough times.”
• “I don’t know what I would have done without her.”
Gathering and sharing, such as the one being planned by the family in Boggs’ memory, was one of the things that the family matriarch thoroughly enjoyed. Bassett said one of those gatherings that her mother “enjoyed a lot was meeting with her nursing school classmates.”
In fact, said Bassett, “She hosted a luncheon at her Bethany apartment in Ripon just a few months ago. They gathered many times over the past 65 years.”
Bethany Home in Ripon was Boggs’ home from 2004 until she died, but for the majority of her life, home was Manteca.
Graduate of UCSF
School of Nursing
School of Nursing
In 1945, Boggs graduated from the University of California-San Francisco School of Nursing where she completed her nursing studies. Prior to that, she attended UC Berkeley and participated in the UC Cooperative Housing Program and started her nursing studies.
Born in Woodland, Calif., she grew up in Zamora, Calif., and was active in 4-H. She graduated from Woodland High School in 1941.
After becoming a registered nurse, she worked as a nurse for four years including 18 months working in Saudi Arabia for ARAMCO where she met her husband, Wayne. The couple moved to Manteca in 1949.
In addition to her many years with Humpty Dumpty and 4-H, Boggs also helped many people through her other community involvements. She served as a trustee on the Calla Elementary School Board from 1951 to 1965, and served on the Delta College Early Childhood Education Advisory Board which was responsible for initiating the child care facility that now exists on campus. In addition, she was a lobbyist in Sacramento for the National Association for the Education of Young Children and was a volunteer at the Family Resource and Referral Center. During the time she was a member of the Central Valley Association for the Education of Young Children, she edited the group’s newsletter for more than 10 years and served on the concert committee.
She was also active in the National Association for the Education of Young Children, AAUW (American Association of University Women), and the Bo-peeps Women’s Auxiliary of the California Wool Growers Association. She also belonged to the Unitarian Church, the Friends of the Manteca Library, the Manteca Historical Society, and the Manteca Kindred Arts Concert Association. After she retired, she volunteered at the Manteca Library as a “huggable during (the children’s) story hours.”
Anyone interested in sharing memories of Ruth Boggs and to fellowship with the family and would like additional information can call (209) 823-1492. The Boggs family ranch where the gathering will take place is located at 11257 East Highway 120 in Manteca.
