Ruth Lucille VanLehn was born in September 1928 to Ed and Lucille (Ford) Robinson in Detroit, Michigan, as the third of four siblings. Her education through Detroit’s school system and her civically active parents during the Depression years in an ethnically mixed neighborhood inspired her to pursue further schooling in social economics at Antioch College.
She married Robert B. VanLehn, a returned GI Bill veteran. Together they had two sons in Yellow Springs, Ohio: Kurt Alan VanLehn and Todd Robert VanLehn.
Ruth worked at Fels Institute with the Lacys, then later served as receptionist at Miami Deposit Bank. She also worked at StarBank. Her sons flourished professionally — Kurt became a professor and research director in artificial intelligence in Tempe, Arizona, while Todd worked as a firefighter/paramedic and excavator near Yellow Springs.
After retirement, Ruth and Bob relocated to Seven Lakes, North Carolina, where she remained active with the Habitat Foundation and traveled extensively throughout the United States and nearly all continents worldwide.
She passed away on October 31, 2024, at River Landing community in Colfax, North Carolina. A memorial service was held at River Landing on December 4 at 2 p.m.