Ruth T. Norris

Ruth T. Norris, 90, formerly of Greenville, died of natural causes on Thanksgiving Day, November 22, 2007. A Memorial Service will be held for her on Saturday, December 8, 2007 at 12 p.m. at Thomas McAfee Funeral Home, Downtown. Born March 14, 1917, Ruth Eleanor Turner was the daughter of Arthur Roy and Katherine La Fon Turner and grew up in the desert country of Taft, CA. Her years at the University of California at Berkeley were especially happy; she formed lifelong friendships there. After graduation from UC in 1939, Ruth?s first professional position was as a social worker for the State of California, providing assistance to families forced to abandon their Midwest homes during the Dust Bowl years. She married Jack H. Norris of Greenville and they settled here to begin raising a family. During the 1950?s, Ruth served as Director of Travelers Aid of Greenville, an agency that provided assistance to travelers caught in difficult circumstances. During the 1960?s and early 1970?s, Ruth worked at the Greenville Chapter of the American Red Cross, in the office that provided Aid to Dependent Families of United States Military Personnel serving in Vietnam and elsewhere. Ruth was asked by Greenville leaders to start a new agency, Senior Action, Inc, to assist the elderly citizens of the Greenville Community. Serving as Senior Action?s Executive Director, from humble beginnings in an old house on Richardson Street, Ruth guided the seedling entity over the course of several decades as it evolved into an agency that provided a broad spectrum of outreach programs for the elderly. As the agency grew, Ruth coordinated with fundraisers, planners, architects, and builders; within a few years Senior Action moved into a beautifully designed new facility, the Greenville Senior Center on McBee Avenue. The Center provided daily programs of structured activities for Seniors in a variety of areas: Painting, Crafts, Book Club, Bridge, Income Tax Preparation, Retirement Planning, Golf, a Community Garden, etc., and offered seniors the chance to participate in group travel excursions through the United States, Canada, and overseas. The Center also housed other outreach programs, including R.S.V.P., a program designed to connect retired persons wishing to work as service volunteers with a number of Greenville?s other social assistance agencies: Meals on Wheels, The Greenville Hospital System, etc. Ruth retired from Senior Action, becoming in later years a very active participant in a number of organizations, Greenville Democratic Women, the AAUW, and the Garden Club. An ardent swimmer all her life, she continued to enjoy her morning laps in the ?Y? pool. An earnest believer in the principle of lifelong learning, Ruth was a dedicated member of the FULR program on the Furman Campus; she took classes in everything from Shakespeare to Physics. Ruth was preceded in death by her parents, as well as her beloved brothers Douglas and Keith Turner of California in more recent years. Ruth is survived by her four children, Michael, Mark, Katherine and John; her grandchildren, Emily Norris, Erin Norris, Christopher Demetres, Cailin Norris, William and Matthew Strickland, as well as three great-grandchildren. In lieu of flowers, donations in her memory may be made to the Y.W.C.A of Greenville, 700 Augusta Street, Greenville, SC 29605.