BANGOR – Ruth W. Striar, 90, died Nov. 14, 2011, at a Bangor healthcare facility. She was born Jan. 10, 1921, in Mobile, Ala., daughter of the late Elisa and Joseph Weisman. She was the widow of the late Louis “Johnnie” Striar.
She is survived by two sons, Joseph Harold Striar and Dr. Brian J. Striar; several nieces and nephews, great-nieces and great-nephews; and a very special and devoted friend, Rachel Ferguson. She was predeceased by five sisters, Mollie Gurwitch of Mobile, Ala., May Weisman of Forest Hills, N.Y., Anne Stowell of Delray Beach, Fla., Sylvia Kramer of Hollywood, Fla., and Edith Weiss of Nashville, Tenn.
Mrs. Striar was past president and board member of Beth Abraham Synagogue Sisterhood, member of Beth Abraham, Beth Israel, and Beth El Synagogues, member of Beth Israel Sisterhood, past first vice president and member of Hadassah, past president and charter member of the American Association of Medical Assistants, District IV, past first vice president, past secretary, and board member of the Eastern Maine Medical Center Auxiliary for 52 years, incorporator of Eastern Maine Healthcare, member of Citizens’ Advisory Council of EMMC, past board member of the Jewish Community Center Sisterhood, member of B’nai B’rith Auxiliary, St. Joseph and City Hospital Auxiliaries, volunteer of St. Joseph Hospital, and past board member of the Salvation Army. She was the member of the YWCA for the longest period of time of anyone in Bangor and was active on the Y-Teen Program Committee. She was also a member of the Sunshine Club for Children, and secretary and a member of Friends of the Symphony Board for more than 25 years. She was former secretary and board member of the League of Women Voters chairing the Probation and Parole Division Committee, and in 1988 she was honored as a founding member of the Board of Directors of the Bangor League of Women Voters. She was also a board member and secretary of both the state and local Arcady Music Society, Inc. She was a member of the Opera league of Maine, past member of the Executive Board of the Greater Bangor Community Arts Council, member of RSVP, Women HEART, Senior Citizens Friendship Club, charter member of the original AARP Widow and Widowers Training Group, Steering Committee of the Children’s Miracle Network, EMMC STAR Oncology Committee, and a former Red Cross Gray Lady. Mrs. Striar was an EMMC volunteer for more than 60 years, working in clinics, gift shop, information desk, chaplain’s desk, pediatrics, blood drives, library, human resources, and O.R., and her name was among the first to be placed on the Volunteer Honor Board. In 1994 she was one of the three people honored by the EMMC Auxiliary in its published book entitled “Our Cherished Memories” in recognition of her continuous service to the Auxiliary’s board of directors. Mrs. Striar was an outstanding dedicated volunteer for the American Cancer Society, Maine Division, Inc., for 65 years, having served on the City and Education committees, as well as being Crusade fundraising chairman for the City of Bangor for 14 consecutive years. She was also a charter member, Public Information chairman, and secretary of the Board of Directors of the Penobscot County Unit of the American Cancer Society. In 1989 at Sebasco Estates, she was honored for 50 years of continuous volunteer service to the residents of Maine. In 1990 she was presented with the prestigious Clarabell Q. Connard Award given for her outstanding volunteerism, excellence and volunteer dedication to the American Cancer Society, Maine Division, Inc. She was a recipient of the Governor’s (Angus King) Award for Volunteerism in 2000. She was also presented the Volunteer of the Year Award by the local Children’s Miracle Network in 2001 on the televised telethon. Mrs. Striar always maintained that we were not put on this earth for ourselves alone, but to help others. Graduated from Murphy High School in Mobile, Ala., Mrs. Striar attended Spring Hill College also in Mobile, Ala., after which she was employed as a legal secretary in Mobile, Ala., New York City and Bangor. She was also employed by several physicians and by the State of Maine in Bangor.
Funeral services will be held noon Tuesday, Nov. 15, at the Jewish Funeral Chapel, 118 Center St., Bangor. Interment will be at Beth Abraham Cemetery, Bangor. In lieu of flowers, gifts may be made in her memory to a charity of choice. A service of Brookings-Smith, 133 Center St., Bangor.