Ruth Bullock Ward

May 17, 2014

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Ruth Bullock Ward, died May 17. She was 99.She began a long and distinguished teaching career in January 1936 when she was hired to teach English and other courses at the Stillwater Junior High School despite the fact she was weeks short of her 20th birthday. She taught three generations of some families among students that included several state leaders. Mrs. Ward had direct connections to Oklahoma’s pioneer days, and learned the value of education from an early age. Her mother was among the first women to attend Oklahoma A&M College after it opened in 1894. Ruth also earned a master’s degree in education from Oklahoma A&M. During the 1930s, her students nicknamed her “Bubbles” for her outgoing and friendly personality. In 1949, Mrs. Ward married Richard Ward, a civil engineering graduate of Oklahoma A&M, and she retired from teaching for the first time in 1950. They were married for 37 years, until his death in 1986. After raising a family, Mrs. Ward returned to teaching in 1970, in the English Department at Oklahoma State University. She retired in 1981.