Ruth E. Startt

A Funeral Liturgy for Ruth R. Startt, a retired Register of Wills for Talbot County, will be celebrated at Sts. Peter and Paul Catholic Church, Easton, on Thursday, April 27, 2006, at 11 AM. Miss Startt died at the Talbot Hospice House, in Easton, on Sunday, April 23, 2006. She was 94. Born in Easton, June 22, 1911, she was the eldest daughter of the late Edward Kenly and Nora Stewart Startt. After graduating from Easton High School in 1928, she attended St. Joseph’s College in Emmitsburg, MD, where she received her degree in 1933. She then taught school for a year before returning to Easton where she was appointed a Deputy Register of Wills in 1934. She held that position until 1952 when she was appointed Registrar of Wills by the Court to complete the term of Robert Dobson. In 1954. She was elected Registrar of Wills and served three more terms until her retirement in 1966.It is noted that she was the first woman to be elected to a public office in Talbot County. She was a past President of the Register of Wills Association of Maryland and served on the Henderson Commission, a state organization to study and make recommendations for revising inheritance tax and probate laws. After retiring, she worked in the probate of a lawyer’s office in Denton and then as a private secretary for a brief time. A lifetime member of Sts Peter and Paul Catholic Church in Easton where she taught Sunday School, she was one of the organizers to build Sts. Peter and Paul Catholic School, which opened in 1955. She had indicated that this was her most satisfying accomplishment. She was also very active in other business and community activities. She had served as a member of the Maryland Blue Cross/Blue Shield Board of Directors, a member of the local Advisory Board of Directors of Union Trust Bank, as President of St. Joseph’s Alumnae Association, and as a member of the Board of Directors of the Community Concert Association of Talbot County. She was also a member and Secretary of the Union Dorcas Society, an organizer of the first Right to Life office in Easton, assisted with formation of the Junior Auxiliary at Memorial Hospital, and was active in fundraising for the March of Dimes and the Memorial Hospital Building Campaign. She served as Secretary of the Board of Directors of Memorial Hospital at Easton and was the liaison between the Board and the Memorial Hospital School of Nursing at a time when the school was being accredited. She had also served on the Democratic State Central Committee for Talbot County. Miss Startt is survived by a sister, Anastasia Startt Cooper, of Easton, and 23 nieces and nephews. She was predeceased by nine siblings and a niece. Burial will be at Spring Hill Cemetery in Easton. Friends may call on Wednesday evening from 7 – 9 P.M. at the Fellows, Helfenbein and Newnam Funeral Home, P.A., Easton, where prayers will be said at 8:45 P.M. Memorial donations may be made to Sts Peter and Paul Catholic School, 900 High Street, Easton, MD 21601.