Ruthann Elaine (Rusty) Bergman

Vibrant, beautiful Ruthann Elaine (Rusty) Bergman, nee Ryan, passed away in her sleep from the effects of her Parkinson's Disease, on December 11, 2024, a day not to be forgotten, at Kettering Medical Center, Southern Boulevard, Kettering, Ohio.

She was the last of 3 siblings to parents Howard and Ida Ryan, both deceased; loving sister to Carol Dice, nee Ryan, deceased, and loving sister to Lowell Ryan, deceased. Best friend and loving wife to William F. Bergman (Bill) for nearly 60 years.

She was a loving Mother to daughter Holly Underwood (Tom) of Yellow Springs and son Bryan Bergman (Leigh) of Boulder, CO and a loving Grandmother to Anna P. Bergman, of Boulder, CO, and Zachary Underwood of Yellow Springs.

She was an accomplished needleworker, talented artist and seamstress, wonderful homemaker, and fun travel companion. She was a graduate of Sinclair College and the proud owner of a robin’s egg blue TR3 in her younger days. Her first job was with Equitable Life Insurance, then she worked as a secretary for the Executive Director of Moraine Farm/NCR in the 1960s. She then worked at KMC for 25 years as a Unit Coordinator and finally was part of the clerical staff at KMC Breast Center.

She truly enjoyed gardening, sewing, her teddy bears, playing Mahjong with friends, and games/puzzles. She was well-traveled with Bill for 42 cruises plus many land tours, to all 7 continents and exciting places of the world and USA. She was a 20+ year member of TWIG #6 of Children's Medical Center plus an accomplished, good cook and baker.

She had a cherished best friend in Ann Schmidt along with being lifelong friends with Jerry Schmidt, Linda and Ron Armstrong, Mary Lou and Emerson Whitacre.

She was a graduate of Fairmont High School, Class of 1961 and still had many friends from her high school class, who helped her participate in doing things with them in the final months of her life.

A memorial service will be held at 12:00PM on Friday, December 20, 2024 at Routsong Funeral Home, 2100 E. Stroop Road, Kettering, OH 45429. Family and friends may visit from 10:00 AM until the time of service. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made out to the Michael J. Fox Foundation in memory of Ruthann. 

The memorial service will be livestreamed via the Routsong Funeral Home YouTube Channel.