ALBERT — Ruth Mildred Tullis Leek was born on April 9, 1919 in Albert, Kan., to Albert and Mae Tullis. She died peacefully on Jan. 19, 2024, at the age of 104 years.
Ruth spent her early years in Albert and Great Bend, Kan. There she met and married Max Leek in 1937. Ruth and Max raised four beloved children, Terrence Starr Leek (passed away 2021), Maxine Penny Cannon (Tom) of Cottonwood, Ariz., Max Tullis Leek (Susan) of Eugene, Ore., and Marjorie Ruth Leek, of Palm Springs, Calif.
After graduating from Great Bend High School in 1935, Ruth studied music at Stephens College and Kansas State University. Music performance was a lifelong activity, including playing violin, viola, piano, and organ. She was a popular and accomplished performer and accompanist and reveled in making music with other musicians.
Ruth enjoyed a successful career as the Director of the Great Bend Public Library. A hallmark of her work was to expand the scope and impact of public libraries through a variety of activities. She was instrumental in the formation of the Central Kansas Library System (CKLS) and served as its first Director. She was also involved in the planning and construction of the new CKLS and Great Bend Public Library building. She extended library services to include art and recorded music and worked with the U.S. Library of Congress to bring library services to blind and physically handicapped Kansans.
After her husband Max passed away in 1983, Ruth retired and moved from Great Bend to be near her children. Over the years since then, she lived in Loveland, Colo., Roseburg, Ore., Portland, Ore., and Prescott, Ariz. She enjoyed many lasting friendships in each of these places.
Her interests and abilities in reading, learning, and playing bridge and other card games, in addition to her ready laughter, quick wit, and sharp sense of humor, made her a popular companion and friend, wherever she called home. She was especially interested in her seven grandchildren and ten great-grandchildren, and she was rewarded by their attention, respect, and love. Her lifelong devotion and nurturing of her family and friends will be remembered with gratitude, humor, and love.
Ruth’s family will gather privately to honor her. Friends may leave comments and recount their
memories of her at https://ruffnerwakelin.com.
Great Bend (Kan.) Tribune, Jan. 27, 2024
