Ruth and Bernard Smith enjoyed a very happy life together, meeting when Aberdeen-born and educated Bernard was Chief of Neurology at the Meyer Memorial Hospital in Buffalo and Ruth was Chief Librarian.
Bernard graduated from the University of Aberdeen MBChB in 1940 and maintained a deep affection for his hometown and the University which had equipped him for a distinguished career. On his death in 1985, he left his estate to Ruth with the request that, on her death, the estate would be left to the University of Aberdeen to build its capacity in neurological research. Ruth lived for another 37 years, passing away in 2022 at the age of 103 and leaving the University a truly transformational gift in her will.
Ruth Hanna was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan during the 1918 flu pandemic and was educated at the University of Michigan in Grand Rapids and at Simmons College, Boston, where she gained a Bachelor of Science degree in 1940. As a medical science graduate, she served with the American Red Cross in Liverpool, London and Paris during and immediately after the Second World War before moving back to Boston and working in insurance and medical administration.
In 1958 Ruth was recruited as Chief Librarian, a role she held for 21 years, at the Meyer Memorial Hospital in Buffalo and, soon after, met Bernard.
Bernard was born in Peterculter, Aberdeen in 1917 and graduated with a First in Medicine from Aberdeen in 1940. He acquired a host of additional academic distinctions both in the UK and in North America and was elected a Foundation Fellow of the College in 1972.
From 1941 until 1946 Bernard served in the Royal Army Medical Corps, achieving the rank of Honorary Lieutenant Colonel, before undertaking his postgraduate training in both Neurology and Psychiatry. After moving to the US, he became a lecturer at McGill before moving to the State University of New York at Buffalo, where he was Clinical Associate from 1953 until 1955 and Professor of Neurology from 1955 until 1979. During this time, while also Chief of Neurology at the Meyer Memorial Hospital, he built up the Hospital’s neurology department and established a training programme for residents. He was honoured as Emeritus Professor after his retirement in 1979.
Ruth and Bernard married in 1959 and during their devoted marriage enjoyed art and opera, travelled the world (including annual trips to Aberdeen) and were widely known for their hospitality and entertaining.
Bernard sadly died in 1985 and his ashes were interred in Peterculter.
A few years before his death, Bernard and Ruth had made the decision to leave the bulk of their estate to the University of Aberdeen with the aim of developing and strengthening its neurology faculty. He noted in 1982 that the US tax system was liberalising some of its stringent international tax laws and in particular, around charitable bequests made to qualifying institutions which were listed with the British Schools and University Foundation (BSUF) - but Aberdeen wasn’t amongst them. He expressed his wish that the University therefore apply to BSUF to enable his bequest to come to Aberdeen, which was soon actioned.
Following Bernard’s death, Ruth made several donations between 1987 and 1990 towards neurology via the BSUF but made it clear that the University needed to establish its own Foundation before she was willing to make any further donations. And so, the University of Aberdeen Development Trust USA, now the University of Aberdeen Foundation, was established in 1994 and Ruth continued to make donations to the neurology fund established in Bernard's name. She understood Bernard’s connection to the University and his desire to advance medical research and kept her promise to him over many years during her lifetime and now, with a gift in her will.
Ruth’s legacy gift will help the University build on existing critical mass in neuroscience and medical imaging to advance its expertise in the causes, treatments, and innovations needed to halt, and ultimately prevent, neurological disorders. We're very grateful to the University of Aberdeen Foundation in the US for their support in the administration of this transformational gift.
Ruth was a vivacious individual who maintained a deep commitment to the University, meeting regularly with fundraising and alumni staff who travelled to the US. During one such meeting, when two University colleagues were visiting her in Buffalo in 2014, she picked them up from the airport driving her Mercedes Coupe at the age of 96 and was a gracious and charming host.
Ruth and Bernard were devoted to each other and when she died in 2022, she had arranged for her ashes to be interred with Bernard’s in Peterculter, bringing them together again one final time in what was and is a true love story.
If you are in the US and considering remembering the University with a gift you can discuss your planned giving options with Nancy Bikson, telephone 646-867-0994 or email nancy.bikson@chapel-york.com
