Ruth Bounous' Obituary
Ruth Marcus Bounous passed away on November 3rd at the age 77 after a long and courageous battle with cancer. She was born in Brownsville, Pennsylvania, the daughter of Rose and Samuel Marcus. She was a brilliant woman who received a BA from Vassar College, a MSW from Ohio State University, and a PhD from Cornell. After graduating from Vassar, she did anthropological research in Malaya with her then-husband, where she had many adventures including being chased by a tiger! She spent her career in both academia and in the practice of social work. Over the years, Ruth taught at St. Edwards University in Austin, Texas, at the University of Missouri in Columbia, at Cornell University, and at Our Lady of the Lake University in San Antonio. She also had an active private counseling practice through mid-2015, which provided support to many long-time clients. Ruth was fully committed to helping people and had many close friendships based on her caring and nurturing nature. Ruth helped to establish one of the first shelters for battered women in Austin in the 1970's. One of her proudest professional accomplishments was creating a literacy program at Cornell that was focused on helping the service workers at the university. This program, known as Community Learning and Service Partnership (CLASP), was started by Ruth in 1990 and still is in operation today. Over the years, hundreds of workers have participated in CLASP and benefited from improved literacy. The most important part of Ruth's life outside of her work was her daughter, Lisa Brophy, and her granddaughter, Sarah Brophy. She was so proud of Sarah's many accomplishments, including her Bat Mitzvah one year ago. Ruth was also a loved and loving sister - her sister Barbara pre-deceased her in 2006 and she will be missed by Nancy Marcus Land (James), George Marcus (Pat Seed), and Gwen Marcus Wright (Minturn), as well as by numerous nieces, nephews, great-nieces, and great-nephews. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the charity of your choice.
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