Ruth Helen Langhinrichs

Ruth Helen Langhinrichs, widow of Reverend Richard Alan Langhinrichs, died peacefully on 16 April 2019. Born 30 October 1922 in Chicago, Illinois to the late Susan Smith and Roy Imler, Ruth was the first in her family to graduate from college, receiving her Bachelor of Science in English from Northwestern University in 1944.

Upon graduation, Ruth set out for New York City. She was successful as a writer and editor, working for several magazines. Eventually, she moved to Philadelphia to become an Associate Editor of the Ladies Home Journal. Here she wrote a teen-focused advice column called “Dear Gay Head” that had an estimated 6 million readers in the 1950s.

Ruth was a poet, published author, and playwright. She wrote and produced, “Mermaids in the Basement,” “The Heart of the Limberlost,” “A Night on Walden Pond,” and “Feathers.” At the time of her death, she was working on her memoir, titled An Intricate Life: Almost One Hundred Years in the Making.

After coming to Fort Wayne, Indiana in 1965 with her husband and two daughters, Ruth worked tirelessly to promote art, music, movies, drama, and writing. She worked both as an Instructor of English on the Purdue Campus and as a writing consultant at the Writing Center. For many years she was on the editorial board of The Windless Orchard and City Limits. She was also a founding member of Cinema Center, the Fort Wayne Women’s Bureau, Great Women of Sunday Afternoon, and Sisters over Seventy.

Ruth was also a feminist and advocate for all women. She was a board member for the Women’s Center, and she was a proud delegate to the International Women’s Conference in Beijing, China. She served as the Mayor’s representative to the Area III Council on Aging. She participated actively on many other boards and never shied away from new challenges. She enrolled and graduated from clown school when she was in her 70s, bringing “Lottie” to life. Her lifelong interests included art, mental health, philosophy, religion, and women’s issues. Poetry, cinema, theatre, drawing, and contemporary literature were among her favorite pastimes.

Additionally, she has been deeply engaged with Unitarian Universalism for more than 50 years, and she regularly attended and served the UU Congregation of Fort Wayne in many capacities.

Ruth was the mother of two daughters, Julie (Ben) Langhinrichs of Cleveland, Ohio and Jenny (Marty) Langhinrichsen-Rohling of Mobile, Ala. She was blessed with six grandchildren, Her surviving friends, biological family, and family-by-choice members were abundant and essential to the full life she led.

Memorial gifts may be made to the UU Congregation of Fort Wayne, the Fort Wayne Cinema Center, or to the Women’s Center.