Sermons
"Homily for Ruth Nagle's Memorial Service"
Ruth Nagle
October 1914-June 2004
"I don't follow fashion I set it."
Ruth Nagle was one of my heroes
-Ruth Hill Nagle-
born in a small town
in Oklahoma in 1914
in a world very different
from the one we know now.
Her father was a telegrapher
for the Railroads
and met her mother in Wyoming.
Her mother was of European descent
-her father Native American.
She was the oldest of three daughters
and the last surviving.
One of Ruth's
favorite stories from her childhood
-is one Nancy told me yesterday
-it may well be a metaphor
for Ruth's life.
When she was little girl
in Poteau, OK
one of her favorite things to do
on a warm summer day
-was to pull her wagon
to the top of a nearby hill
and then climb into it
with her Uncle Dixon
-Dixon although her uncle
was quite close to her in age-
the two of them would climb in
-fold the handle down
front of them
and then launch themselves
down the hill
-with the abandon and faith
that only young children have.
As long as I've known Ruth
she's been getting into wagons
flying down the hill
and taking a whole bunch of us along for the ride.
Ruth had two great loves of her life.
Earl Hicks and Bill Nagle.
Earl died tragically
when he was quite young of throat cancer.
She would tell me vivid stories
of the train ride they took
from Oklahoma
to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN.
She loved Earl
and she nursed him
until he died.
Then she moved to Chicago
-having studied design at Tulsa University
and done drafting for Hughes tools
she went to work in design for Stone Container
and while doing a project for work
she met Bill Nagle.
Theirs was a long courtship
that Sarah and Ruth have already alluded to
-when married
they became quite a team.
Each of them deeply involved
in the development of Ravenswood Hospital.
Henry Kusch
-a former president of Ravenswood Hospital
-remembers that he met Bill and Ruth
his first day as an administrator
at the hospital.
He recalls that they were
intimately involved
in creating a first class community hospital.
Bill worked with the board
and Ruth was deeply involved
with the Women's Auxiliary.
Not only did she help
to reorganize the auxiliary
working tirelessly
on expanding membership and fundraising projects
-Mr. Kusch fondly remembered
Ruth's
leadership and initiative
in creating the
pediatric,
obstetrics
and psychiatric departments
at the Hospital.
She also helped create
the volunteer program and
was a prime mover behind
establishing a chaplaincy program.
Even though it was a secular hospital
---she thought that having
a spiritual component was important.
Henry Kusch said,
Ruth and Bill Nagle were key community leaders
in enabling Ravenswood to go
from a small 150 bed hospital
to a 450 bed medical center.
"Caring is what we do best"
was their motto and Ruth lived that out
-continually assuring
that the needs of the community were being met. And lest we think
that all of that is lost
-since Ravenswood Hospital no longer exists
-please know
when Advocate took over Ravenswood
part of the merger agreement
was to establish
the Ravenswood Health Care Foundation.
That Foundation's mandate
for the next 10 years is to give away
one million dollars a year
to the Ravenswood Community.
Ruth cared.
And she was also a character.
A quick mind,
a periodically sharp tongue,
she was opinionated.
She knew form,
she knew beauty.
She knew what she wanted
and what she liked.
Pat Smith-the person
who pretty much enabled
Bill and Ruth Nagle
to live independently so long-
(You did an amazing job Pat-thank you.)
Pat tells a wonderful story
that captures Ruth's
character and her garden.
In the front of her house
are some barberry bushes
and she always liked Pat
to keep them rounded and full.
One day a fellow walked by
and commented on the bushes-he said,
"You know
you're supposed to keep
those bushes
cut straight and flat.
To which Ruth replied,
"Young man
-I don't follow fashion-I set it."
With Ruth-you always knew where you stood.
Ruth had strong opinions
and a resolute character.
Nothing made this more evident
than when she ensured
that Bill would die at home.
More than anything
Bill wanted to die in the house
in which he was born.
And Ruth saw that it was so.
Again Pat you were there helping their dreams be a reality.
My most cherished memory
of Ruth and of Bill
is the day we laid his ashes to rest.
Bill had wanted his ashes spread
either in the Irish Sea,
the Pacific Ocean, or Lake Michigan.
I said, "Bill there's not a darn thing
I can do about the Irish Sea or the Pacific Ocean
-but I can help you out with Lake Michigan." And so it came
-that I and two lay leaders
from the congregation
-found ourselves paddling out in kayaks
to meet Ruth and Pat
on a pier that extends out into Lake Michigan.
I had Bill's remains in my kayak.
I had just learned
how to do an Eskimo roll in my kayak
and so when we reached the edge of the pier
-I said, "Can I show you my roll?"
-"Oh yes Bonnie I'd love to see it."
So I handed Bill's ashes to Mary
and promptly proceeded
to roll my boat upside down
and back up again.
When I surfaced
she clapped her hands and gave a little jump.
Then I pulled out the committal service,
I read the prayers
and we scattered some of Bill's ashes.
As we finished the Lord's prayer
I looked up and realized
that every fisherman on the pier
had his hat off and was blessing themselves.
Then we waved to Ruth and Pat
and turned around and paddled out
two miles to scatter
the remainder of his ashes.
She had me save the urn
-because she said she wanted me to do
the very same thing with her ashes.
Ruth had an outlandish spirit
that gives me hope for my own future.
As frail and ill as she was
-she made aging look palatable.
Because it was clear
she never stopped growing or learning.
Ruth was an amazing woman
and I will-and we will all
miss her dearly.
As she came closer to death
-Ruth became somewhat afraid.
Afraid of what was to come
-afraid perhaps of death
-but mostly I think
afraid of missing
things that would go on with the family.
Sarah I know how happy she was
to meet-to see Jasper.
I know how much she cared for you
Bill and Nancy and Pat.
Ruth and Sarah and Charles-she adored you.
Every visit was
filled with stories of your lives.
Ruth was afraid of missing
what would happen with her family
and Ruth was,
like many of us,
afraid of those things
which she could not control and did not know.
But now she knows.
For as the author of our second reading says,
"What we will be
has not yet been revealedÖ
but when God has been revealed we will be like God." For Ruth-
God has been fully and ultimately revealed.
God has promised
from the beginning of time
to be with us always.
And God's promise and God's presence
does not end with our death.
For just as we share in Christ's life
with our baptism
so shall we share in Christ's resurrection
with our death.
A place has been prepared for her
and she is now with God.
Gone from our sight
-alive in our memories,
our stories, and our souls.
After 90 years from her labor she can rest.
And we give thanks
for her life,
her laughter and her love.
Amen.