Mary Ruth Walker Rahm

Funeral services for Mrs. Mary Ruth Walker Rahm will be held at 11:00 a.m. December 9, 2014 at St. Mark's Episcopal Church, 701 South Wolcott, Casper, WY. A reception will be held at the church followed by committal at Oregon Trail Veteran's Cemetery. Visitation will be held at Newcomers Funeral Home and Crematory on Monday, December 8, 2014, from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m.

Mrs. Rahm was called to God's Heavenly Kingdom on Tuesday, December 2, 2014. She was born to A.W. and Jessie (Jolley) Walker in Takoma Park, Maryland on October 25, 1922 where she was raised and educated. The third child and only daughter of five children, Mary Ruth was also expected to take care of the family while her brothers all served in the war effort. At her death, she still communicated with friends she had as a child. She loved school and was horrified that so many boys in her graduating class died in the war.

Mary Ruth's life was story, and there were amazing things to share. At the age of seven, her father, who then worked for the Treasury Department in D.C., was invited to a party for incoming Treasury Secretary Nellie T. Ross from Wyoming. Mary Ruth remembers meeting her and being quite impressed with her dress and hair style. When Mrs. Ross told her she was from Wyoming, Mary Ruth later asked her father where Wyoming was. The irony of this meeting is that she married a Wyoming boy years later.

As a young teen, Mary Ruth spent time with Margaret Truman, a shy young girl. Ruth's father was close friends with Harry Truman. Both men were part of the same Masonic Lodge. Mary Ruth liked to report that when Harry was stressed he would walk the Pennsylvania path (no iron gates then) with his hands behind him, and A.W. would sometimes join him.

Mary Ruth received an Associates Degree in Secretarial Sciences and went to work in the Navy Department. She worked under the direct supervision of Commander Comfort who served under Admiral King and Admiral McCain. It was often that these men interacted with her as she typed the many sensitive letters and communiques going out of the office. When only military personnel could work in the office, Mary Ruth was transferred to the Contract Division, of what became the Pentagon, a necessary job but not her favorite.

In 1944, she met a handsome soldier, Carroll Rahm from Pinedale, Wyoming in the days before he shipped out to fight as a member of the 106th which fought in the Battle of the Bulge. They fell in love. When Mr. Rahm learned he was to come home and be discharged, he called Mary Ruth from Paris and asked for her hand in marriage. They were married June 30, 1946 at the Church of Transfiguration below the Tetons in Moose, WY.

Ruth and Carroll spent three years at the University of Wyoming while he completed his Bachelors and then his Masters using the GI Bill. Living in Laramie after the war was hard. They started campus life living in one of the famous trailers brought in from Airbase Acres in California. The refrigerator was on the roof in Carroll's footlocker and the bathroom was a block away. While at UW, Ruth was in charge of the Veteran's Office. Overseeing the data and grades of about 4,000 of "her boys" was a job she loved. She attended many meetings in Cheyenne for men who were injured in the war, physically and mentally. To the day of her death, she could remember the boys when she saw their names in the Alumni Magazine.

Life on campus was hard so Carroll and Mary Ruth looked forward to the trips to Pinedale to spend time with his dad Gottfried who came from Switzerland. Mary Ruth was able to experience the wilds of an early Wyoming and went on several packs trips with friends. She said there was nothing nicer than talking to her father-in-law on a cold crisp morning in his cabin. He gave her her first shot of 100 proof whiskey to start the day warm. She told many stories of her adventures in this wonderful state, and noted that the winter of '49 was particularly memorable. She and Carroll followed the last snowplow back to Laramie during that storm, and it was a harrowing experience.

When Carroll was hired as principal of the old Washington School in Casper, they moved and stayed here. It was here that their only child, Mary Carroll, was born in 1954. They were very active early on at St. Mark's Church (they first lived in the little White House next door) and in this faith they raised Mary Carroll.

Giving of herself quietly was a major part of her life. While she worked some in Casper, especially as the first elementary school secretary in the district at McKinley (where Carroll was then principal) and Grant, and then as head secretary at Dean Morgan Jr. High until she retired, her main focus was homemaker and mother. She taught Sunday school and then served her church on Altar Guild. She was leader of Bluebirds when her daughter was a member and then served as Guardian of Jobs Daughters. She baked for the church and early on belonged to Vesta Extension and Departmental. She was active in Ladies of the Shrine, especially enjoying the Egyptians Dance Troupe which travelled as far away as the Bahamas. She also was wife of an Oriental Band member in the Shrine. Some of her best memories came from those trips, especially to Canada, as well as travel to various Army reunions with Carroll.

Ruth was the very best of mothers to her daughter Mary. The two considered themselves also as best friends, and they spent many hours together. Both had many hobbies they shared, especially music. The many sewing and art projects made Ruth so happy. Her love of flowers is reflected in her paintings and garden. She considered her greatest sewing accomplishment the prom dress for Mary where the zipper went in just right the first time through gown and lining.

Ruth never sought a lead role in any organization; she just wanted to serve and help people. Nevertheless, she was often called upon to use her skills to lead some of the clubs she belonged to. More often than not, however, she used to discover that if the hand fits the ladle that is where she would find herself, in the kitchen, preparing food to be served.

The lifelong advice she left her daughter was to listen to people rather than talk all the time. She had beautiful brown eyes which talked louder than words, and she used those eyes to communicate well. Her greatest wish for her daughter was to be happy. Having taken care of her own mother when she was ill during the war years, Mary Ruth was seen as quiet, sweet, sensitive, and compassionate, and she took care of Carroll through the final illness that took him in 2004.

Ruth spent her final years quietly around the home where she baked, read histories and biographies, wrote in her journal, tended her garden and kitchen, and enjoyed her flower garden and long conversations with loved ones. She continued to write cheerful letters to family up until her passing. She was constantly worried about America and the many world problems she viewed on television and read in the paper. The last conversation she heard from her daughter was reporting on the many wonderful things she has seen in her 92 years on earth, such as the phone, the television, and even electric street lights instead of the old fellow street lighter each night on Georgia Avenue at home.

Mrs. Rahm is lovingly survived by her daughter Mary Carroll Johnson of Casper and her husband Neal. The Rahm family could not live without their dogs, and it follows that she is also survived by two upset long-haired chihuahuas named Molly and Mikey. There are numerous nieces and nephews all around the country and she remained close with many of them. Leaving before her were: her husband Carroll; her parents; and four wonderful brothers,
James, John, Thomas, and Hugh.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to St. Mark's Episcopal Church, the Casper Humane Society, or a charity of the donor's choice. Messages may also be left at n