Ruth Logan

Ruth Logan was 103 when she passed away in Fort Lauderdale on September 9. She was a creative, smart, quiet and thoughtful teacher, artist, wife and mother of four girls. Born in Kansas City, Missouri, in 1922, she was the daughter of Bernice and Auley McAuley, who raised their five children in Lakeland, Florida, before eventually moving to Long Beach, CA, to join their parents. Ruth was the third born, surviving her sisters Margaret, Marcia and brother Jim. A passionate reader who valued education, Ruth was an undergraduate student at UCLA and Florida State University before eventually graduating from the University of South Florida in Tampa. She married Henry Clayton Logan, a World War II veteran, businessman and politician. They settled in Lakeland and had four girls: Shasta, Shannon, Marcia and Mary. Henry, who was in the citrus industry and served as mayor of Lakeland, passed away in 1964 from a blood-related cancer. Ruth commuted to Tampa to earn a master’s degree in education from the University of South Florida. Ruth had a passion for art, reading, cooking and traveling. She was a public school librarian in Lakeland for twenty years before eventually moving to Fort Lauderdale and then Pompano Beach, where two of her daughters, Shannon and Mary, reside. Always the artist, she loved the beach, the water, birds, the colors of the sky and the texture of the sand. She treasured her books, especially a volume of the history of Florida which included a biography of her husband, and of his father, once sheriff of Polk County. She coveted a link to the past symbolized by her extensive sterling silver collection, which she enjoyed polishing. Among other relics, she collected marble and glass eggs and flowers. She loved traveling abroad, visiting countries including England, France, Turkey, Greece, Australia, Argentina, Israel and Russia during her lifetime. Ruth was reserved but had a dry, subtle sense of humor that sometimes caught people off guard but endeared them to her. Creative to her core, she spent hours hand-making clothes for her children’s dolls and for her grandchildren, and creating unique menus for Sunday supper, always finished by her signature chocolate chip cookies or flan. She enjoyed golf and bridge, and later became an accomplished jeweler and watercolorist. She was an exemplary grandmother for her grandchildren Lauren, Clayton, Sam and Michael, and great-grandchildren Ariana Roshan Goodgame, Henry Clayton Bruker, Elle Thomas Bruker and Logan Jane Bruker. In September of 2022, she celebrated her 100th birthday with family near her residence in Pompano Beach, Florida, dining on her favorite foods: grilled tenderloin with Bearnaise sauce, lobster tails, champagne and one of her favorite deserts, fresh multi-layered coconut cake. She will be buried in Bartow, Florida, next to her husband, in a private family ceremony. In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to PBS, one of her favorite TV stations, or to a charity of your choice in her name.