all Oral History
April 3, 2008

Ruth Andres

Ruth Andres was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on February 17, 1929, into a family shaped by immigration and education. Her father's parents came from Russia, settling in Minnesota and then Milwaukee, where her father studied chemistry at the University of Wisconsin and business at Harvard before running a soap company. Her mother's parents emigrated from Lithuania to Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Ruth grew up in a Milwaukee suburb, attended Temple Emanuel, and though her family observed the holidays and visited her Orthodox grandparents, she found herself active in a mix of Jewish and non-Jewish circles. A self-described tomboy, she loved sports, learning, and being with people. She began college at Northwestern before transferring to the University of Arizona when her family moved to Phoenix.

After graduating as a teacher, Ruth's love of adventure took her far. She taught elementary school in Long Beach, California, traveled in Europe, and accepted a teaching position with the Air Force in Rabat, French Morocco, teaching young children to read. She later worked briefly as a tour guide at the United Nations in New York before returning to teach in Santa Monica. A friend arranged introductions for her in Dallas, and on one visit she met Dave Andres, a Dallas native whose family ran a grocery store. He proposed, and they married in Phoenix on February 12, 1956. Ruth then made Dallas her permanent home, settling into the welcoming local Jewish community.

In Dallas, Ruth raised five children while building a life of service. She taught English as a Second Language to Russian immigrants, joining the staff at Brookhaven College for twenty years, and volunteered with the National Council of Jewish Women and Jewish Family Service, helping resettle refugee families. She sang in the Temple Emanuel choir, co-chaired the Rose Terrace preschool, and served as president of the Dallas Jewish Historical Society, where she helped win Federation funding and founded the Anna Lu Sakura Award. Inspired by her mother-in-law, she also mentored young artists. She spoke with great pride of her family, especially her daughter Rachel, whose humanitarian work with solar cookers for refugees in Chad earned an international award.