Ruth Marjorie Connelly

Ruth Marjorie Connelly

August 9, 1920 – March 27, 2023

Ruth Marjorie Connelly  was born on August 9, 1920 in Spokane Washington to James Byron and Mary Dickgraber Daubenspeck.  She died on March 27, 2023 at the age of 102.

Ruth was the middle child of a family of six children. She attended the University of Washington in Seattle and earned her Master’s Degree in Audiology and Speech Pathology in 1944.  She also went on to complete additional graduate studies at Northwestern University in Chicago and Columbia University in New York.

After World War II, Ruth moved to California and became the Executive Director of the San Francisco Hearing and Speech Center. In 1953, Ruth married the handsome, Jerry L. Connelly, the love of her life.  They were married for over fifty years until his passing.

Ruth was blessed with great faith in God and a desire to serve others, and she was instrumental in establishing the Marin Hearing and Speech Center at Marin General Hospital in the 1960s where she served as the Executive Director until her retirement in the 1980s.

Believing that family values were key elements to success in life, after her retirement, she helped to start Family Enrichment San Francisco Bay Area, a non-profit organization providing educational programs to strengthen the family and family values.

Regarding her faith, Ruth was an unwavering and life-long Catholic and a member of the Catholic Prelature Opus Dei.  She was also a parishioner at St. Hilary’s Church in Tiburon for over 60 years.

Ruth is survived by her two sons James (Susan) Connelly, Brian (Sandy) Connelly, six grandchildren, Robert (Stacy) Connelly, Dylan  (Sydney) Connelly, Stephen Connelly, Annie Connelly, Shannon Connelly, Marguerite Connelly,  two great grandsons, Hudson Connelly and  Carson Connelly, by her sister, Wilma Daubenspeck Cliff, and by many beloved nieces and nephews.  She is predeceased in death by her late husband, Jerry L. Connelly.

Memorial gifts in honor of Ruth Connelly may be made to:

Family Enrichment San Francisco Bay Area, 1241 Adams Street, #1048 St. Helena, CA, 94574 (707) 815-8348

Excel Education Foundation, Inc., 89 Hillcrest Road, Berkeley, CA 94705

St. Hilary Catholic Church,  761 Hilary Drive, Tiburon, CA 94920

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