Ruth Glatt, 91, Overland Park, KS, died on November 28, 2020. She was born on January 8, 1929 in rural Carlton, Kansas to Christian and Lena Bertsch, German immigrants who raised Ruth on their wheat farm with older sister Marie and younger sister Elisabeth.

She received her primary schooling at Scotia, a nearby one-room school. She graduated from Chapman High School and then from the University of Kansas School of Nursing in 1951 where she earned a Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree. Her professional career included one year of acute care nursing in Chicago, Abilene KS Memorial Hospital, school nursing in the Chapman KS School District, and Trinity Lutheran Hospital in Kansas City.

She married Paul Glatt in 1953, a K-State graduate and farmer near Enterprise, KS. Their three children are Susan (Denny Aguiar), Leawood, KS; Christopher (Kate), Overland Park, KS; and Mark (Edi Stieb), Rosenheim, Germany. Paul preceded her in death in 1968.

Ruth’s interests were many. She was an avid Jayhawk and an accomplished pianist who gave a living room recital for her 80th birthday. She loved riding her bike, riding every day into her late 80’s. She rode in Bike Across Kansas for 18 years. As a longtime member of Village Presbyterian Church, she served on Parish Nurses, provided respite care for several families, joined the church’s mission trips to the Dominican Republic, and was a Sunday School teacher.

She devoted her life to her family and caring for other people. She was a Mary Poppins-class babysitter for people and pets of all ages!

In addition to her three children, Ruth is survived by six grandchildren: Sarah (Mario Villasenor), Paul (Katie Durkin), Kevin, and Andrew Glatt. Toni and Phoebe Aguiar. Also surviving are four great grandchildren and many nieces and nephews. These children and grandchildren were her great pride and joy.

A service in Ruth’s honor will be held at a future date. Memorial donations in honor of Ruth may be sent to Village Presbyterian Church, 6641 Mission Road, Prairie Village, KS 66208 or the charity of your choice. The family requests no flowers, please.



Please read Ruth's Eulogy below:

On behalf of the entire Glatt family, thank you for helping us celebrate the life of one of God’s most selfless ambassadors. She wouldn’t want anyone to make a big deal of her life or the many people she helped with theirs. But, she answered the bell for so many people, and without a complaint about the short straws that fell her way.

As we celebrate the remarkable life of Ruth Glatt, B.S.N., we should start by giving thanks for the wonderful example she set for us all, young and old. Need groceries delivered as a shut in? Ruthe’s there for Lane! Need a baby sitter? Ruthe was the best for many generations and many families. Can you cover my shift at Trinity Lutheran on a holiday? No problem. Need a place to stay? Take the spare bedroom or the couch. Someone to talk with at 4 am every day? Hey, it’s her sister, Marie.

Being kind to your fellow man is much talked about but seldom done well over a lifetime. The scriptures are full of such advice. Sermons always extol this virtue. And, let’s not forget, it’s one of those Commandment things too. If the Almighty has someone keeping score on such behavior, I believe our Ruthe, affectionately called “Oma”, has a reserved seat right next to Joan of Arc!

Ruth Catherine Bertsch was the middle of three sisters, born January 8, 1929. Her father, Christian, was a farmer while her mother, Lena, worked as a cook in a nearby Abilene hotel. Money was short but love of family and farm life was strong. Like all children in the area, Ruth attended Scotia, a one-room school, also attended by her sisters Marie and Elisabeth. The three were devoted to each other and remained life-long best friends. She went on to Chapman High School and then graduated from the University of Kansas School of Nursing in 1951.

Soon thereafter she married Paul Glatt and settled into a life of nursing and farming with K-State graduate Paul. Susan, Chris, and Mark soon followed. Sadly, Paul lost his health battle in 1968 but Ruth had the strength and the smarts to carry on with great family results. One of the best qualities she modelled for her kids and others was not complaining! She had her share of misfortune, but no one would hear about it from her. Susan, like her mother is a registered nurse. Chris is a civil engineer, and Mark is a bilingual mechanical engineer. They joined together as a team for Ruth as her health declined, including Mark’s contributions from Germany. They did it all and they did it well!

Ruth also leaves six grandchildren, all with amazing accomplishments. Check out these credentials for the grands: a dentist, a biomedical engineer, a math whiz and teacher, a photographer and engineer, an engineer and surfer, and an All-American track star. They have posted degrees from Notre Dame, St. Louis University, Kansas University, Dartmouth, Macalester, and Syracuse. Ruthe lavished them with trips of their choice with destinations that included St. Louis, Omaha, Germany, and Hawaii, to name just a few. Add in four great grandchildren and you can see why Ruthe was so proud. Chris is surprised that none of her grandkids became professional baseball players considering the thousands of pitches she threw for them. Above all, they were her body of work, her pride and joy, her raisin de e’tere!

Ruthe learned to be a great cook from her mom who immigrated with her husband from Germany to rural Carlton, Kansas at age 17. Like her mother then and her children now, Ruthe loved to make German cookies called Essele and Pfeffernusse at this time of year. Her year-long oven delight was Laugewecke, a German pretzel roll, which always came wrapped in a tea towel with instructions to eat while warm. We did just that!

Ruthe was the babysitter for the Western World. All kids loved their stays with her because she was an easy touch. Anything goes and they knew it! “Ruthe, can we take your pet Guinea pig, Honey, for a walk in the park?” “Ruthe, could you bring out a broom to get Honey out of the bush? She escaped.” “Ruthe, can we splash in the fountain in our underwear?” “Sure, nobody’s watching!” She was a friend to all creatures, great and small. Many years ago, I watched Ruthe gently move a black snake warming itself on the clothes dryer in her country home. In the summer, it wrapped itself around her TV antenna for sunshine. And then there was Lucy, the grandkids’ dog, who adopted Ruthe and waited faithfully at the door for their daily walks. One grandchild said, “Oma is the best babysitter.” Mary Poppins, move over!

It seems appropriate at this time to ask anyone who has been touched by Ruthe’s kindness to please stand in her honor.

On a lighter note, growing up in the depression and being frugal came naturally to Ruth. One of her cars collapsed on a farm road as the body disconnected from the frame! So, she gave them to Chris or Mark who drove them another 50,000 miles! She drove her cars so long the junk yard crusher turned her down. She was also an avid Jayhawk fan who never forgave “Rotten” Roy Williams for returning to North Carolina. Governor Sam Brownback and President Trump also failed to make her Christmas card list.

Ruth achieved amazing personal goals during her long life. She was a “super senior” riding in Bike Across Kansas for 18 years. She rode 80 miles over 3 days in BAK to celebrate her 80th birthday. Also for that occasion, she presented a piano recital with an impressive rendition of Debussy’s Claire de Lune.

At Village Church she participated in the first of many Medical Mission trips to the Dominican Republic. Her church service was focused on helping others through programs like Parish Nurses, Respite Care, and Sunday School teaching. Her devotion to others outside of church included providing meals for Mary Kay Myers’ Shalom House Shelter for 13 years, and delivering Meals on Wheels to folks younger than herself for many years.

Her professional career included a year of acute care nursing in Chicago, a big step for a smalltown Kansas farm girl, but par for the course for a Bertsch girl. After that she worked at Abilene Memorial hospital, was a school nurse in Chapman, KS, a medical surgical nurse at Trinity Lutheran Hospital and also spent two summers working at a clinic in Honolulu so her kids could enjoy the sand and surf! Mark said, “Who would pack up their bags and take their kids to Hawaii for two summers? Who would do that?” Well, of course, Ruthe would. He also noted that she was ahead of her time in sponsoring the high school Ecology Club. They collected trash along the roadside and compacted the newfangled aluminum cans with a baseball bat for recycling. Chris added, “She should have received extra pay as a counselor for all the kids who hung out in her office because it was a safe haven from mean classmates.”

In addition to her generous and accommodating nature, Oma was a deep and practical thinker. Like her sisters, she detested medical heroics when the end was near. She would not have liked her loss of memory, but would have been quick to say, “Well, this is the pits, but what can anybody do about it? I will learn to live with it!” She once heard me give a business ethics talk here at the church which touched on the clash between the World of Science and the World of Faith, including the debate on how our world began. Feeling very proud of myself for such a learned study, I asked, “Oma, what’s your take on all of this doubt about Faith?” Her simple but prophetic response: “Why not believe? What have we got to lose?”

Ruthe loved music nearly as much as she loved her family. And she could chime in on a hymn with the best of them. This is one of her favorites:

Precious Lord, take my hand, lead me on, let me stand.
I am tired, I am weak, I am worn.
Through the storm, through the night, lead me on to the light.
Take my hand, Precious Lord, lead me home.

As we leave this time of celebration and thankfulness for a remarkable life, let us remember Ruthe’s examples:

• Of caring for others.
• Of always seeing the best in her fellow man.
• And, of walking through the unknown, one practical step at a time, all with an abiding faith that things will work out for the best for all those we love.

As we say goodbye to Ruth’s time with us, remember her sage advice: “Why not believe? What do we have to lose!”

Amen!

~Tom Bowser, husband of Ruth's niece, Judy