Ruth Anita Bustard Somers

Somers, Ruth A., 75, September 14, 2008.  Arrangements by Bowers Funeral Home, Island Falls.  Interment to be held in the Patten Cemetery.
    PATTEN – Ruth Anita Bustard Somers, 75 years old, passed away September 14, 2008, at Mountain Heights Healthcare Facility. She was born November 29, 1932, in Smyrna Mills, the sixth child of seven children born to Hazen and Effie Bunting Bustard.
    Ruth graduated from Oakfield High School in 1950 and from the University of Maine at Presque Isle in 1954 with a bachelors degree in education. Her teaching career was spent in Maine, Massachusetts, Germany and Virginia, where she retired after 28 years at Riverside Elementary School in 1989. Ruth was President of the Maine State Society in Washington, D.C. in 1980 and 1981. She also volunteered for the Red Cross where she ran blood drive programs at Fort Belvoir, Virginia. She was a member of Washington Farm United Methodist Church in Mount Vernon, Virginia.
    Ruth was known for her intellect, love of adventure and her encouragement to young people to follow their dreams. Upon graduation from high school, she went to college on academic scholarships and traveled to Frankfurt, Germany where she joined her husband, Spurgeon, serving in the U.S. Army. This was the first of their two European assignments where Ruth immersed herself in the culture, taking classes in German and making friends of the locals and military families. She loved to travel and planned trips for her family that took them throughout Europe, with memorable vacations in Berlin and Austria. She especially enjoyed her later trip to Ireland to visit long-lost relatives with her mother and sister.
    Ruth loved teaching fifth grade and was one of the first "gifted and talented" and "computer resource" teachers for her school in Virginia. As President of the Maine State Society, she enjoyed organizing their Christmas dinner at Mount Vernon, the Cherry Blossom festivities, and initiating their scholarship program.
    Ruth is survived by her husband of 55 years, Spurgeon R. Somers, of Alexandria, Virginia; her daughter, Monica Galloway, son-in-law Thomas Galloway, and grand-children Christina Galloway, Bryan Galloway, Laura Galloway, and Elena Galloway of Fairfax Station; her son, Ricky Somers, daughter-in-law Lynn Somers and granddaughter Kari Somers of East Millinocket, Maine; and her son, Steve Somers of Linden, Virginia. She is also survived by her brother, Carl Bustard of Oakland, Maine; sisters, Teresa Morkin, of Jacksonville, Florida, Wilma Dwyer and her husband Virgil, of Oakfield, Maine, and Gail Thompson and her husband Fred, of Caribou, Maine; many nieces and nephews; her mother-in-law, Annie Somers; and brothers and sisters in-law Lois Somers, Gene Somers and Donna Patterson, Marilyn Somers, Raymond and Glenda Somers, Dicky Somers, Sadie and Wayne Heath, Vickie and Steve Richardson. She was predeceased by her parents, Effie and Hazen Bustard; sister, Dorothy Bragdon; brother, Kenny Bustard; father-in-law, Spurgeon Somers; and brothers-in-law, Bobby Somers and Cecil Somers.
    Ruth has battled Alzheimer's for the last 10 years and spent the last 3 years in Mountain Heights Healthcare Facility in Patten, Maine. The family wishes to thank her many compassionate caregivers there and her friends and relatives who remembered her by dropping by to visit.
    Friends are invited to visit during calling hours on Wednesday, September 17th, from 6-8 p.m. at Stetson Memorial United Methodist Church in Patten where funeral services will be held on Thursday, September 18th at 10 a.m. in Patten. Interment will be in the Patten cemetary. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in Ruth’s name to the Alzheimer's Association, 225 North Michigan Avenue, Fl. 17, Chicago, Illinois 60601-7633 or online at http://www.alz.org/join_the_
cause_donate.asp.