Born in 1924 in Pushmataha County, Oklahoma, Ruth wasn't expected to live past the age of two. Her physical impairments made it difficult to walk or even wear shoes. Through her own tenacity and the support of her family, she persevered and graduated college in 1945.
At a time when few women practiced medicine, Ruth decided to become a physician - a career typically restricted to men. But World War II provided new opportunities for women, and Ruth became one of 11 women admitted to the University of Oklahoma College of Medicine that year. She graduated from medical school in 1949, becoming a respected anesthesiologist who practiced in Hutchinson, Kansas, before returning to Oklahoma City in 1975. After 47 years of practicing medicine, Ruth retired in 1996.
Dr. Mershon was raised in a family that valued education and the arts. Her grandfather was a professor and her mother, Mabel Frances Adams Mershon, was an avid reader and a frequent visitor to the public libraries in the communities in which she lived.
Following her death in 2000, a gift through her will established the Ruth Mershon Fund at the Oklahoma City Community Foundation to support scholarships for students in central Oklahoma as well as other charitable purposes including grants to Lyric Theatre of Oklahoma and the Metropolitan Library.
Read more:
2006 - A Gift of Music
2011 - Dr. Ruth Mershon
2018 - Bringing Dreams to Life