September 29, 2023
SHE’S NO ORDINARY CENTENNARIAN! Born on her grandparents’ farm in Opelousas, Louisiana, former HHA board member, Ruth P. Thornton says she grew up checking on the sharecroppers, inspecting the livestock, running through the fruit orchards, assisting the blacksmith and riding the horse bareback to the mailbox. After graduation from high school, she followed her mother to Houston. In 1944, she married Edward Thornton
whom she met in San Antonio at a Baptist Convention. With his mother-in-law, Edward purchased the Heights bungalow at 1248 Herkimer in 1948 back when Herkimer was a gravel road. Widowed in 1969, Ruth has lived here alone ever since.
When she arrived in Houston, she began waitressing at Gaido’s Restaurant on South Main Street but was soon promoted to train and manage the other workers. She next worked for ten years at Hermann Hospital, obtaining an LVN license. At age 34, Ruth decided she wanted to go to college. The hospital staff urged her to study nursing, but becoming an RN required her enrollment in Prairie View A&M which meant separation from her husband and son, Eddie Jr. Instead she chose Texas Southern University, attending class from 8:00 am to 2:30 pm and then working 2nd shift at Hermann Hospital. She chose the only major she had ever heard of besides nursing, graduating in 1961 with a degree in Home Economics at the age of 38. Immediately hired by HISD she began her 46 year career in education, teaching in elementary and middle school and then at Booker T. Washington Senior High
School. At BTW Ruth taught Home Economics for 32 year, a curriculum covered Food, Clothing, Child Care and Interior Design, but she admits that she hated teaching about food, “I was always much more interested in clothing and design.” Meanwhile, her love of learning drove her to obtain a M.Ed. in Administration as well as 12 hours at Texas Tech University toward her Ph.D. For 20 years she was Booker T. Washington’s Educational Coordinator, training and securing job placements for her students, and luckily for the students, her involvement extended beyond the classroom. Chipping in money to ensure every senior had a cap and gown and prom attire and other extras, she also sponsored the Mademoiselle club which impacted 75-100 girls each year. Chairperson of the Campus Beautification Committee, Ruth oversaw landscaping, redesigned the administrative offices and decorated stage and banquet tables for all events. She retired from BTW at age 84.
Community service has always been Ruth’s passion. At age 15 she joined the Red Cross to help flood relief victims in her Louisiana parish and in high school there, she became a library aide to keep the school libraries open during summer breaks since the city fathers closed Opelousas’ black public library. As an adult, she has always chosen membership in service organizations. Ruth beams with pride when she talks about her Cub Scout den mother days. Starting a Cub Scout troop so her son would be able to experience scouting, her enjoyment of camping trips, knot-tying and counting heads of 20 “Lil fellas” all dressed alike to make sure no one got lost, kept her in scouting long after her son had moved on. For more than 50 years, she has been part of the Harris County Council of Organizations, the oldest African American political pact, and Co-Chair of the Women’s Auxiliary of Harris County Democrats. Today, unlike most Centenarians, she is electronically savvy and zooms to stay connected to her service clubs and civic organizations. She finds her iPad handy for puzzles, and with her cell, texts family and friends. Online services at Olivet Baptist Church, where, during her 71 year membership, she served as Director of Church Education, are her great joy. Enlisted by Paul Carr in the 1980s to join the Houston Heights Association, she has been a member ever since, as well as maintaining a membership in the Constable Patrol program since its inception. She served for three years on the HHA’s Board of Directors, the first Black member. Carr describes her as a vivacious and welcoming community leader. We applaud this woman’s remarkable leadership in the Heights as well as the entire city, but to Martin Kaplan she was a valued Kaplan Ben Hur customer who was so very stylish and elegant The photograph captures the poise and elegance of Ruth Thornton who says she is well-cared for by her son, daughter-in-law, grandchildren and a host of friends and former colleagues. HHA is excited to honor this extraordinary woman Her advice to young people: “be yourself. Don’t try to be someone you aren’t.” When asked her thoughts about the many changes in Houston Heights since 1948, Ruth smiled broadly, “I welcome change. Too many old people get stuck in the mud. That’s why they get old.” Ruth Thornton is 100 years young, very wise and fortunately for Heights’ residents, still going strong.
