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Ruth Eleanor Mendenhall Barrett, M.D., died on her 94th birthday, December 27, 2016, surrounded by her family, at Hospice House, Indiana University Health, Bloomington, Indiana. She was born on December 27, 1922, in Kokomo, Indiana, to Owen and Maude (nee Weaver) Mendenhall. As a girl, she spent her summers working on her grandfather's farm in New London, Indiana, and her spare time riding her horse, Ginger, and practicing the violin. An accomplished violinist, she played with the South Bend Symphony Orchestra during her college years, and later, with the Brockport, New York, Symphony Orchestra. In 1941, she graduated from both Goshen High School, Goshen, Indiana, and the La Salle Preparatory Conservatory, South Bend, Indiana. She was a Laura Kindig science scholar at Goshen College, Goshen, Indiana, receiving her B.S. in 1944. Ahead of her time for women in the 1940s, Ruth then moved to Chicago, where she attended Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, graduating with her M.D. in 1948. She was one of six women in her graduating class of 130. Ruth was the first woman intern at Michael Reese Hospital in Chicago (1948-49), where she met Edward A. Barrett, M.D. The couple married on March 20, 1949, and moved to Iowa to open their medical practice. In 1951, during the Korean War, her husband, Ed, was called to active duty in the Army Medical Corps. Ruth started her four years of residency training in pathology at the Alameda County Hospital, Oakland, California. Ed served at the Presidio Army Base in San Francisco. Following his discharge from active duty, the couple then moved east to the New York City area where they lived from 1953-1966. They lived in Mt. Kisco in Northern Westchester County. During that time, Ruth worked under a number of distinguished forensic and clinical pathologists, earning her certification as a Fellow of the American Society of Clinical Pathologists in 1956. She was on the staff at Northern Westchester Hospital, Mt. Kisco, from 1954-1966. She was a Deputy Medical Examiner for Westchester County from 1956-1964. In 1966, the family, which now included four children, moved to Albion, New York, where Ruth was able to practice both clinical and forensic pathology. From 1966-1987, she served simultaneously as the Pathologist/Lab Director for Arnold Gregory Memorial Hospital and as the Coroner of Orleans County, New York, a position to which she was elected five times. She was also a consultant pathologist for the F.D.R. and V.A. hospitals in Batavia, New York. Ruth retired from the practice of medicine in 1987, and she and Ed moved to Bloomington, where she started a new career, working as a tax preparer for H&R Block from 1989-1999. Throughout her career, Ruth volunteered generously, serving as the Vice-Chairman of the Mt. Kisco Housing Authority from 1961-1964, Treasurer of the Medical Society of the State of New York (9th Dist.), President of the Orleans County Medical Society, and President of the medical staff at Arnold Gregory Memorial Hospital. She served as a director of the Medical Liability Ins. Co. of New York State. She participated in legislative matters in Albany, testifying many times before the State Assembly and the State Senate. She was an active member of several Chapters of the Daughters of the American Revolution, including the Chapters in Albion and Bloomington. She enjoyed her membership in The Society of Indiana Pioneers. An active genealogist for most of her life, she donated her large set of handwritten works to the Ft. Wayne Public Library several years ago. She was a member of St. Mark’s Methodist Church, Bloomington. Ruth was predeceased by her husband, Edward, who died in 1994. She is survived by her four children, M. Scott Barrett (Ruth Nyenhuis Barrett, R.N.), Bloomington, Indiana, Edward M. Barrett (Ruth Gonzalez Barrett), Duncan, Oklahoma, William W. Barrett (Hon. Martha Blood Wentworth), Greenwood, Indiana, Elizabeth Barrett Farrell (Timothy R. Farrell), Burr Ridge, Illinois, one granddaughter, Meredith M. McCarthy, Burr Ridge, Illinois, four step-grandchildren, Amy Wentworth and Katherine Wentworth, D.V.M., Indianapolis, Courtney Farrell and Jacob Farrell, Avon, New York, and two step-great grandsons, Santiago Bueno and Xavier Bueno. Calling hours will be at The Funeral Chapel of Powell and Deckard, 3000 East Third St., Bloomington, at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, December 31, 2016, followed by a memorial service at 11:00 a.m. at the Funeral Chapel. Grave-side services and burial will be at the New London Friends Cemetery, New London, Indiana, at 3:00 p.m. on Saturday, December 31, 2016. Donations in Ruth’s memory may be made to Goshen College or the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, c/o the Funeral Chapel.