Ruth E. Waller
Ruth Ellen Waller, 99, of Pigeon Falls, formerly of rural Whitehall died Sunday, November 9, 2025, at Pigeon Falls Health Care Center in Pigeon Falls.
Ruth was born August 11, 1926, in New York, NY, to Louis and Rebecca (Newman) Pariser. She married Roger Milton Waller of Taylor, May 28, 1955, in Anchorage, AK. Roger preceded Ruth in death, April 26, 2017.
Ruth graduated with honors from the Franklin K. Lane High School in Brooklyn in 1943, and went on to earn a degree in psychology from Queens College in 1947. She had a life long interest in helping people who struggle with mental health issues and she worked as a psychiatric aide at the Norwich State Hospital as well as a social worker at the Central Islip State Hospital and Queens General Hospital. An early influence was her favorite professor at Queens College, Dr. Kenneth Clark, who notably went on to contribute to the Brown v. Board of Education case before the Supreme Court.
Ruth moved to Manhattan, attending the Art Students League where she studied portrait painting, a skill she carried throughout her life. She got a job at a co-op nursery in Brooklyn where she was a teacher for folksinger Woody Guthrie’s boys, including four year old Arlo. In 1952, Ruth earned her teaching certificate from NYU and, feeling the call of adventure, went west to Merced, California where she taught kindergarten for a year at the John Muir School.
In 1953, she moved north to Alaska to teach second grade at the Denali School in Anchorage. Ever active in the field of psychology, Ruth was a charter member of the first Mental Health Association in Anchorage and the first President of the Alaska Mental Health Association. It was in Anchorage where she met and married Roger, and together they started their family with three daughters. Indicative of cold war tensions of the era, their home was equipped with the first family fallout shelter in Alaska!
After leaving Alaska in 1963, Ruth, Roger and their three daughters lived in Arlington, VA, Tuscon, AZ, Albany, NY and Madison, WI. Ruth returned to school ‘stateside’ as an older adult in 1968, receiving her Masters and Doctorate degrees in counseling and psychology from the UW-Madison. She spent the rest of her career teaching, eventually becoming the Chair of the Human Services Department at Hudson Valley Community College in Troy, NY.
In retirement, Ruth was busy with travel, clubs, friends and family. She loved to read and always had a stack of books by her side. She was able to travel the world with Roger, learning about people, places and cultures through the Elder Hostel program. She loved to shop, spend time with her children and grandchildren and decorate her home.
Ruth was a strong, confident and courageous person who broke through many of the barriers that women of her generation faced. She was a fierce advocate for her family and her students. Always the teacher, she was quick to instruct us of our moral obligation to be sensitive to the plight of others, to assist those less fortunate and to be a voice for the oppressed. Her love, wisdom and guidance will be deeply missed.
Ruth is survived by her three daughters: Elizabeth (Chris) Zerby of Gaithersburg, MD, Janet (Bill) Butler of Whitehall and Nancy (Al Silberstein) Waller of Taylor, WI; three grandchildren: Tim Butler of Queens, NY, Rebecca (Kevin) Zerby Millward of Savannah, GA and Andrew (Nina) Zerby of Coatesville, PA; and one great-grandchild, Olive Zerby.
In addition to her parents and husband, Ruth was preceded in death by her sister, Judith Abberman of New York, NY.
A Celebration of Life is being planned for the spring.
