| Ruth Rivenburgh Crouch |
Ruth Rivenburgh Crouch, age 79, passed away at the Hebrew Home of Greater Washington on Saturday
evening, December 12, 2009, following a courageous year-long battle with cancer.
While she will be missed by all who were blessed to know her, we take solace in the fact that she is at peace
and with the Lord. Born on June 26, 1930, in Binghamton, New York, to Dexter and Charlotte Rivenburgh,
Ruth attended Lafayette Grade School, Alice Deal Junior High, and graduated from Woodrow Wilson High
School in 1948. Ruth graduated from Mary Washington College in 1952, and was united in marriage to Lt. JG
Michael Bond Crouch on April 30, 1955.
In the late 1950''s, Ruth began a long distinguished career in the Navy Department, starting as a secretary
working at Main Navy in Washington, DC, and ending with the Military Sealift Command in Washington, DC as
the Executive Assistant to the Deputy Commander. Her hard work and dedication was recognized in the fall of
1984 with her receiving the Meritorious Civilian Service award from Vice Admiral William H. Rowden. This
award is one of the highest civilian awards given out by the Navy Department.
Ruth is survived by her daughter and her husband, Kathleen and Tony Scoppetuolo, her son and his wife,
Michael and Donna Crouch; four grandchildren, Ana (Scoppetuolo) Ginelli, Sara Scoppetuolo, Erica Crouch,
and Jessica Crouch; two sisters, Bette Mayer of Tampa Florida and Barbara Hall of Keswick, Virginia. She is
further survived by six nieces, five nephews, other relatives and many friends. In addition to her father, mother
and step-mother Camille, she was preceded in death by her husband, Michael B Crouch.
Relatives and friends are welcome to attend a viewing at the Harry H. Witzke''s Family Funeral Home, located
at 4112 Old Columbia Pike, Ellicott City, MD 21043, on Saturday, December 19 from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. and from
6 p.m. to 8 p.m. The Rev. Mike Triplett, pastor at the Church of the Resurrection in Ellicott City, will offer a
short prayer service at the end of the 6 to 8 p.m. viewing. She will be laid to rest with her husband, Michael, at
Arlington National Cemetery on April 30, 2010.
Published in The Washington Post from December 15 to December 18, 2009