Jeanne B Johnson (Barker-Nunn)

I knew Ruth in high school, where she was, among other things, a champion debater, but we didn't become good friends until college, when she and Kathy Rantala and I often hung out as a threesome. Ruth had Type-1 diabetes, and by our final year or so in college, I think she became increasingly aware that her life might be short and became the most fun-seeking and adventurous of us all. She was wicked bright and witty and up for almost anything. After graduation, she took a teaching job in Las Vegas and would teach by day and hang out at the clubs and shows at night. The last time I saw her was in New York, where she had a layover before flying to a summer trip to Europe with a showgirl friend, and I will always take pleasure in thinking of her of as the young women bursting with anticipation and eager for new experiences that I met for drinks that evening. I don't know much about her life after that, but know that she died much too young, and that the world lost a bright light when she did.