03/24/2026
Ruth Aline Ketchum Burns
April 27,1918 - February 8,2026
Ruth Aline Ketchum Burns died February 8, 2026 at the age of 107.
Ruth was born April 27,1918, in Great Falls, Montana, the second child of Norma Grace (Robertson) and Charles Clayton Ketchum. At the time of her birth the family resided in Fairfield, Montana. Charles was a civil engineer employed by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation on the Sun River Irrigation project. Norma's parents, Byrd and Jessie (Vorus) Robertson were pioneer settlers in Sun River where Mr. Robertson owned and operated a general store. The family moved often during Ruth's early childhood, living in Montana and Idaho, then settling in Vale, Oregon where she completed elementary and high school. She attended the University of Oregon, majoring in business administration and graduating in 1939 with a BA degree. White attending the UO she was a member of Alpha Omicron Pi sorority, Phi Chi Theta, Beta Gamma Sigma as well as a Mortar Board honorary. Her activities included serving as president of her sorority, a member of the Associated Women students speakers committee, president of the YWCA and captain of the coed rifle team. In1941, she earned an MBA at Northwestern University while employed by Carson Pirie Scott & Company. Here she was assistant training director, later becoming assistant employment manager.
In April 1943 Ruth resigned her position at Carson's to serve with the American Red Cross hospital service during World War II. During the war she was stationed in Army and Navy hospitals in Sydney, Brisbane, Southport, and Townsville, Australia, and Hollandia, New Guinea. Following a brief time in Manila after the war ended, she was then assigned to an Army hospital in Kure, Japan, arriving there in November 1945. When she returned to the United States she was employed as Training Director by Henry C. Lytton & Co., Chicago. In 1947 she returned to Japan where she was employed as an historian for the US Army Historical Section, editing a history of WWII in the Southwest Pacific and later a history of the Occupation of Japan. Between the two assignments she took a six-month leave of absence, traveling by freighter from Yokohama to Bombay then up the Persian Gulf. She spent several months traveling in the Middle East and in Europe. After completion of the historical projects Ruth returned to the U.S. and to Washington D.C. where she was employed by the Central Intelligence Agency until her marriage to George W. Burns in August 1953. They lived in Pikeville, Kentucky, San Francisco, San Rafael, and Fresno, California.
Following a divorce, Ruth and her daughter, Diane, moved to Portland where she was employed by Evans Products Company. ln 1965 they moved to Eugene. Ruth worked as a college student financial aid administrator and earned a PhD in Higher Education Administration in 1973. In 1978 she resigned from her position as associate director of financial aid and for five years worked for the Oregon State Scholarship Commission. She retired in 1983 but continued to be active in financial aid as a private consultant to colleges and universities in Oregon, California, Washington, and Idaho. She was active in professional financial aid organizations and in 1984 received a meritorious achievement award from the National Association of Student Financial Aid for her work in authoring an Encyclopedia of Student Financial Aid still used as a reference by colleges and universities throughout the U.S.
Ruth moved to Corvallis in 1993. She was an active member of the P.E.O. Sisterhood, AAUW, the Assistance League of Corvallis, and the Episcopal Church of the Good Samaritan. Ruth enjoyed traveling, reading, writing, sewing, photography, cooking and loved parties.
She is survived by her daughter, Diane Fisher and her husband Glenn Fisher, granddaughters Kyla Humphreys and Kimberly Bronson (Wade), grandson Matt Fisher (Laci), niece Julie Prickett (Kayne), nephews Scott Westfall (Denise), John Proebstel, grandnieces Kelsey Price (Andy), Stefanie Westfall, grandnephew Nicholas Svoboda (Santara), 7 (almost 8) great-grandchildren and 7 great nieces and nephews. She was predeceased by granddaughter Katie Fisher Gray, sisters Barbara Proebstel., Donna Westfall, and brother Clyde Ketchum, infant daughter Carolyn Jessica, and infant twins Susan Elizabeth and Gorden Randolph.
A memorial service will be held at 2:00pm on Saturday June 13, 2026, at the Episcopal Church of the Good Samaritan in Corvallis. McHenry Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
ln lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the P.E.O. Scholarship Foundation, the Episcopal Church of the Good Samaritan Foundation, CARE international or to a charity of choice.
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