Ruth S. Mossman

Ruth Sparks Mossman, 99, wife, mother, business professional, teacher and community volunteer passed away 9/25/2009 in Cottonwood, AZ. Born in Summitville, Indiana, June 3, 1910 between an older brother (Don) and younger sister (Helen) she developed a keen mind and a wry sense of humor. Ruth attended Butler University in Indianapolis, moved to Ohio State University where she was president of her sorority, Alpha Chi Omega, and graduated in 1932 with a business degree. She received an MBA from Northwestern in 1944 and three years later, became the first woman in Indiana history to become a CPA. She taught business in high school and college followed by a career working for two prestigious accounting firms. She married Frank H. Mossman in 1939. They lived in cities from the East Coast to California, traveled the world, but for 48 years East Lansing, Michigan and Michigan State University where Frank was a nationally recognized professor of transportation were home based. The roads chosen were sometimes rough, sometimes smooth, but Ruth always traveled them with resolve and determination and where she lived the community and the local Episcopal Church found another willing volunteer. She was an accomplished bridge player and she and Frank, until his death in 2004, made a formidable duplicate bridge team. She was a frequent golfer. Ruth is survived by daughters Linda Gloss, Sedona, AZ and Helen Battista, Memphis, TN; grandsons Michael and Rocky Battista; brother-in-law John E. Edwards, Salt Lake City, UT; nephew John S. Edwards (Evelyn), Sandy, UT; and niece Jane H. Edwards, Tarrytown, NY. An online guestbook is available at www.westcottfuneralhome.com