Ruth H. Moll | Widener "first lady," 92

Ruth Henderson Moll, 92, formerly of Wallingford, a helpmate to her husband, former Widener University president Clarence M. Moll, died of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease Saturday at White Horse Village in Newtown Square.

Mrs. Moll graduated from Bridgeton High School in New Jersey. She earned a bachelor's degree from Temple University, where she met her future husband, and taught at Clayton High School in Clayton, N.J.

She married in 1941 and two years later her husband joined the faculty of Pennsylvania Military College. He became president in 1959 and led the school's transition to Widener University.

"She reveled in her role as 'first lady,' " her son Bob said, entertaining students and visiting dignitaries, including Bob Hope and architect Buckminster Fuller. Her husband became president emeritus in 1988.

The couple traveled all over the United States and to every continent except Antarctica. After her husband died in 2003, Mrs. Moll took a London theater tour in 2004; retraced the travels of Lewis and Clark by paddleboat down the Columbia River in Oregon in 2006; and cruised the Caribbean last November.

Mrs. Moll was a member of the singing group at White Horse Village, where she had lived since 2004.

In addition to her son, she is survived by son Jonathan and three grandchildren.

The funeral will be at 11 a.m. Thursday at St. Matthew Lutheran Church, 400 Lynbrooke Rd., Springfield, Delaware County. Friends may call from 10 a.m.