Ruth E. Buck, pioneering doctor and medical missionary, has died at 91
Born in Philadelphia and reared in Montgomery County, she was one of just 11 women to graduate from the Temple University School of Medicine in 1965.
Ruth E. Buck, 91, of Lower Gwynedd, Montgomery County, retired pioneering radiologist, Christian medical missionary, philanthropist, lifelong learner, role model, and world traveler, died Monday, Feb. 23, of complications from Alzheimer’s disease at her home in the Spring House Estates retirement community.
Born in Philadelphia and reared in Erdenheim, Montgomery County, Dr. Buck was one of just 11 women to graduate from the Temple University School of Medicine in 1965. She did pioneering work as a doctor in pediatrics and then radiology, and spent her career at the old Abington Hospital and on medical missionary assignments in the Caribbean, Africa, and elsewhere.
She was an honor roll student and four-sport star athlete at Springfield High School in Montgomery County, and worked at first as a secretary for three doctors. Soon, all three doctors saw how smart and adept she was at practically everything. So they encouraged her to become a doctor herself. So she did.
She earned a bachelor’s degree at Wheaton College in Illinois and her medical degree at Temple, and practiced at Abington and abroad with what is now the Christian Medical and Dental Associations. “She broke glass ceilings and paved the way for other women, doctors, and leaders,” her family said in a tribute.
After she retired, Dr. Buck was eager to remain connected to people and her faith. So she traveled alone to Chicago, lived in a dormitory, and, at 74, earned a degree in spiritual counseling at Moody Bible Institute. “Ruth’s faith in Jesus Christ was a central influence in her life,” said her brother David, “shaping her values, relationships, and sense of purpose.”
Her family calculated that she contributed at least $1 million to a long list of Christian, anti-poverty, and social justice organizations, including Moody Bible Institute, Senior Law Center in Philadelphia, and the Alzheimer’s Association. At Wheaton, she endowed the Ruth E. Buck Pre-Med Scholarship Fund.
She also helped establish what became the Acts organization, a Christian-based, long-term life care network, and served on the board at Spring House Estates. Away from work, she traveled to Europe, Asia, and throughout the United States with family and friends.
As her health declined, her three nieces — Karen, Sharon, and Debbie — organized into what they called Team Ruth and accompanied Dr. Buck as she navigated her final years. “In the Ruth dictionary, niece meant daughter,” said her niece Karen, “and my cousins and I proudly wore that title.”
Ruth Elizabeth Buck was born June 14, 1934, in Philadelphia. She was a younger sister to brothers David and Paul, and active with her high school student council, school newspaper, honor society, and chorus.
She was captain of the girls’ basketball team and a member of the field hockey, softball, and tennis teams. Before Wheaton, she attended Philadelphia College of Bible.
Dr. Buck went to Cape May and Ocean City, N.J., with her family often when she was young and to the Bahamas and other beaches when she was older. “Ruth was drawn to the ocean,” her family said. “She kept her toes in the sand and sea well into her late 80s.”
She followed the Phillies and had season tickets to Eagles games. She played tennis for years and rarely missed the U.S. Open or Wimbledon on TV. She went to the opera, ballet, and Philadelphia Flower Show.
She adored the city and her brothers, her niece Karen said. Everyone said she was fun and witty. “My life has been enriched and blessed beyond measure because of Ruth,” a longtime friend said in an online tribute.
Her brother Paul said: “She was a loving sister and an exceptional person.” Her niece Karen said: “She was generous, kind, thoughtful, and compassionate. She was remarkable.”
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In addition to her brothers and nieces, Dr. Buck is survived by other relatives.
Services were held earlier.
Donations in her name may be made to the Wheaton College Ruth E. Buck Pre-Med Scholarship Fund, 501 College Ave., Wheaton, Ill. 60187; Moody Bible Institute, 820 N. LaSalle Blvd., Chicago, Ill. 60610; and Senior Law Center, 1650 Arch St., Suite 1820, Philadelphia, Pa. 19103.