Ruth Sharp Altshuler
Ruth Collins Sharp Altshuler (1924 - December 8, 2017) was an American philanthropist living in Dallas, Texas. The Dallas Morning News wrote that she helped raise tens of millions of dollars for charity.[1] Altshuler was the first woman to serve or chair several boards, including the Salvation Army Dallas Advisory Board, the board of Goodwill Industries, and the chair of the Board of Trustees of Southern Methodist University.[2] She is also an inductee in the Texas Woman's Hall of Fame.
Biography
Altshuler grew up in a mansion with her two brothers and parents in Dallas.[3] She graduated from the Woodrow Wilson High School and spent her summers at an exclusive girls' camp in Texas Hill Country.[3] On of her brothers, James M. Collins, would become a member of the United States Congress.[2] She attended Southern Methodist University where she met her husband, a Navy pilot, when she was a junior.[3] They were married, but her first husband died in combat during World War II.[3] Altshuler started working at Dallas Love Field and met her second husband, Charles Sharp, who she married in 1947.[3] Altshuler had three children and later joined the Junior League.[3] In the Junior League, she saw people who were in need and she began to volunteer.[3] Altshuler was inspired to do philanthropy because of her parents and also because of the ideas of Albert Schweitzer.[4]
Charles Sharp eventually was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease and passed away in 1984.[3] Altshuler remarried to a physician, Ken Altshuler.[3]
Altshuler helped form the Tocqueville Society in 1986 when she asked more than 100 friends to help her support the United Way.[5] She and her friends raised $1 and then formed the Tocqueville Society.[5] In 1987, she was inducted into the Texas Woman's Hall of Fame.[2]
In 2008, the Smithsonian Institution's Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars gave Altshuler their Award for Public Service.[6]
In 2013, she was in charge of the event commemorating the 50th anniversary of the assassination of John F. Kennedy.[3]
Her memorial service was held on December 14 at the Highland Park Methodist Church.[1]
References
- ^ a b Haber, Holly (2017-12-17). "Ruth Altshuler's contributions to Dallas are hard to measure — or exaggerate". Dallas News. Retrieved 2017-12-30.
{{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|dead-url=(help) - ^ a b c "Ruth C. Sharp Altshuler". Texas Women's Hall of Fame. Texas Woman's University. Retrieved 2017-12-30.
{{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|dead-url=(help) - ^ a b c d e f g h i j Ramirez, Marc (2017-12-09). "Ruth Altshuler, a pillar of charitable and civic efforts in Dallas, dies at 93". Dallas News. Retrieved 2017-12-30.
{{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|dead-url=(help) - ^ Hunter, Glenn (14 October 2015). "Dallas Icons Recall Decades of Philanthropic and Civic Involvement". D Magazine. Retrieved 2017-12-30.
{{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|dead-url=(help) - ^ a b Hall, Cheryl (2017-09-05). "Sisters in secrecy cook up $7M surprise for legendary Dallas do-gooder Ruth Altshuler". Dallas News. Retrieved 2017-12-30.
{{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|dead-url=(help) - ^ "Awards". Chronicle of Philanthropy. 20 (23): 39. 18 September 2008 – via EBSCOhost.
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