2007.03.27: March 27, 2007: Headlines: COS - Lesotho: Obituaries: Older Volunteers: Virginian Pilot: Obituary for Lesotho RPCV Ruth Dunn
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2007.03.27: March 27, 2007: Headlines: COS - Lesotho: Obituaries: Older Volunteers: Virginian Pilot: Obituary for Lesotho RPCV Ruth Dunn
Obituary for Lesotho RPCV Ruth Dunn
In 1984, few senior citizens joined the Peace Corps, but they didn't go to Lesotho, a country surrounded by South Africa, said her son. "You have to remember that South Africa was in upheaval with apartheid," he said. "Nelson Mandela was in prison. Lesotho was not a place you wanted to be." Dunn, described as "about as big as a bird," thrived. Assigned to set up business cooperatives, she became a beloved and trusted member of the community. "Everyone called her 'Miss Ruth,' " her son said. "She adopted a dog she called Chang II after her cat Chang at home, and they went everywhere together. It was the best time of her life. "
Obituary for Lesotho RPCV Ruth Dunn
Post Script: Retiree spent two years in Africa with Peace Corps
By FRED KIRSCH, The Virginian-Pilot
© March 27, 2007
VIRGINIA BEACH - When Ruth Dunn told her children where she intended to spend her first years of retirement, they had only one question.
"We said, 'Mom, are you crazy?' " recalled her son, Bill.
Dunn, then 65, was headed to the African country of Lesotho as a Peace Corps volunteer, where she would live in a group stone hut in a village with no running water or electricity.
I n 1984, few senior citizens joined the Peace Corps, but they didn't go to Lesotho, a country surrounded by South Africa, said her son.
"You have to remember that South Africa was in upheaval with apartheid," he said. "Nelson Mandela was in prison. Lesotho was not a place you wanted to be."
Dunn, described as "about as big as a bird," thrived. Assigned to set up business cooperatives, she became a beloved and trusted member of the community.
"Everyone called her 'Miss Ruth,' " her son said. "She adopted a dog she called Chang II after her cat Chang at home, and they went everywhere together. It was the best time of her life. "
Dunn, who died March 11 at age 87, lived in Rhode Island most of her life and was a "New Englander through and through." When her husband died, she was left with three children - June, 13, Marilyn, 12, and Bill, 3 months.
She supported them working as a bookkeeper. She also went to school at night pursuing an accounting degree.
After the Peace Corps, she moved to Virginia Beach. For years, until well into her 70s, she worked for Comprehensive Mental Health Services, answering phones, running the office and helping with bookkeeping.
"She kept us hopping," colleague Joanne Clegg said.
Dunn, who was a member of Mensa International, an organization for those with an IQ in the upper two percent of the population, embraced computer technology long before most senior citizens knew what it was. It was how she discovered Returning Peace Corps Volunteers, an organization she threw herself into.
"She gave talks and sat on panels," said Clay Drees, the group's president and founder. "People would do a double take when they saw this little old lady, and then they'd be would be blown away by her experiences. She was a wonderful inspiration."
Said her son: "Her philosophy was you put more into life than you took out."
# Reach Fred Kirsch at (757) 446-2484 or postscripts@pilotonline.com.
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Headlines: March, 2007; Peace Corps Lesotho; Directory of Lesotho RPCVs; Messages and Announcements for Lesotho RPCVs; Obituaries; Older Volunteers
When this story was posted in April 2007, this was on the front page of PCOL:
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Story Source: Virginian Pilot
This story has been posted in the following forums: : Headlines; COS - Lesotho; Obituaries; Older Volunteers
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