Ruth (Wilgus) Billyou

Ruth Wilgus Billyou died November 4, 2013 at her home at Avery Heights, Hartford. Ruth was the loving widow of Ferris Scott Billyou, who died in November 2012. Ruth Elizabeth Wilgus Billyou was born on June 7, 1927 in Manila, Philippines, one of four children of Walter Quincy Wilgus and Ruth Martin Wilgus. Ruth grew up in Old Greenwich CT, Memphis TN, and Great Neck NY. She graduated from Smith College in 1949, and to the end of her life maintained her Smith friendships. She also studied at Sarah Lawrence College, where she was awarded a Master's Degree in English Literature. Ruth worked in the field of education throughout her life, starting in the 1950s at the Institute for International Education in New York, teaching at Pace University in Pleasantville, NY and at Kingswood-Oxford School in West Hartford, and then serving as Director of the Greater Hartford Consortium for Higher Education. Later in her career, she was instrumental in developing the local mentoring program Higher Ground, assisting urban high school students to transition into college. In her free time, Ruth excelled in creative gardening, cooking and needlework. She was an avid and perceptive reader and writer, and enjoyed her membership in Hartford's 'Thursday Club' for women. She organized many Smith book sales, which at times were so large that they were held in the West Hartford Armory and in Trinity College's Field House. During her 45 years in the Hartford area, she was an active member of the Episcopal Church, attending Christ Church Cathedral in Hartford and St. James's Church in West Hartford. Ruth was the beloved mother of Ann Banegas of Montclair NJ, Susan Gallwey of Waterford, Ireland, and Mary Rose of Ridgewood, NY, and gracious mother-in-law to Hector, Stephen and Christopher. She leaves behind six grandchildren: Jeremiah, Abigail, Jane, Nicholas, Anna and Lucy, as well as her sister-in-law Elizabeth, nieces Shelley and Gay, nephews Walter and Alex, and dear friends Karen and Scott Kaeser. Friends may call at the Taylor & Modeen Funeral Home, 136 South Main St, West Hartford on Friday November 8, from 4 pm to 6 pm. All are welcome to attend a memorial service for Ruth at 10:00 am on Saturday November 9, at Christ Church, Roxbury, CT, followed by the burial of the ashes of Scott and Ruth at Roxbury Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Hartford VNA, Main Administrative Office, Suite 4B, 1290 Silas Deane Highway, Wethersfield, CT 06109, whose aides provided such wonderful care to Ruth in the final two and a half years of her life. For directions and online condolences, please visit www.taylorandmodeen.com.