Ruth Margaret(Warren) Wilkin

Ruth Margaret (Warren) Wilkin, 96, died Sunday, July 5, 2015, at Presbyterian Manor, in Topeka, Kansas.

Ruth was born Sept 9, 1918, in Muscotah, KS. Her parents, Will and Ella (Calvert) Warren, adopted Ruth when she was five months old after her birth mother, Ruby Carter Stamper, died and her father, John Stamper, was unable to care for his four children.

Ruth graduated from Lawrence High School (1936) and the University of Kansas (1940) where she resided in Watkins Scholarship Hall and became a member of the Phi Beta Kappa academic society her junior year. During this time, the Great Depression shaped her view of the importance of government in people's lives. As a result, she majored in political science and involved herself in campus politics.

In 1940, Ruth married childhood sweetheart, Donald Keith Wilkin, in Lawrence. They resided in Corpus Christi, Texas during World War II where Don taught radar and radio while in the Navy. Don and Ruth raised their family in Topeka, Kansas where Don was Plant Extension Engineer for Southwestern Bell Telephone and Ruth engaged in politics and community service.

Ruth believed one person could make a difference. She was a Girl Scout leader for many years and President of the League of Women Voters. She was the only female member of the Kansas Citizen's Tax Review Commission, a member of the Environmental Health Committee, and a member of the steering committee for the Public Assistance Coalition for Kansas. She was a regular contributor to the "Topeka Scene" column in the Topeka State Journal newspaper, a life-long bridge player, and a member of numerous civic organizations. Ruth strongly supported many feminist causes and worked tirelessly for equal pay for women.

In 1972, Ruth was elected to the Kansas House of Representatives, the first woman and first Democrat to represent her district. She also became the first woman to chair a major committee in either the House or Senate when she was asked to chair the Assessment and Taxation Committee. After retirement, she served as legislative liaison for the American Association of University Professors and also the Girl Scouts.

An active member of Potwin Presbyterian Church, Ruth led a church initiative in 1977 to sponsor a large refugee family from Vietnam. She was a supportive figure for the family through the years and pleased to see the children and grandchildren succeed in college and their careers.

Ruth and Don found great pleasure in travel and camping. Each summer the family drove through a different region of the country in their goal to visit every state (which they did). In later years, Don and Ruth traveled throughout the world, appreciating its many natural and manmade wonders.

Ruth was preceded in death by Don (1993) and daughter Susan Wilkin (1992).

She is survived by daughters, Jan Chase (Jim Jensen), of Pomona, CA, and Donna Wilkin (John Epp), of West Des Moines, IA; two grandchildren, Ben Chase (Melissa Saldana), of Minneapolis, MN, and Amelia Chase (Baard Hermansen), of Oslo, Norway; and sons-in-law, Robert Beer, of Telluride, CO, and Lyle Chase, of Union, NE.

A memorial service will be held at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, August 29, 2015, at the Presbyterian Manor Jellison Chapel, 4712 SW 6th Ave, Topeka, KS 66606.

Memorials may be made to Potwin Presbyterian Church, the American Cancer Society, or the Democratic Party.

The family wishes to thank the staff and residents of Topeka Presbyterian Manor for the care, friendship and support Ruth found in her fifteen years of residence.

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