Ruth E. Munger; Educator

A graveside service will be held today for Ruth E. Munger, 91, of Santa Paula, who taught in Santa Paula and Fillmore elementary schools for nearly 30 years before her retirement.

Munger died Thursday in a Ventura hospital after a brief illness.

She was born June 20, 1901, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and moved to Fillmore while in high school. She attended the UCLA Normal School and later received a teaching credential from UC Santa Barbara.

After teaching at Beverly Hills Grammar School and in Montebello, Munger returned to teach in Fillmore, said Marilyn Williams, her daughter.

During the Depression, however, the Fillmore school district laid off its women teachers in order to keep its male teachers employed, and Munger transferred to Santa Paula, Williams said.

Munger, who was with the Santa Paula district from 1939 until her retirement in 1962, taught second and fourth grades at McKevett Elementary School, and administered intelligence tests to the district’s students.

“Her ex-students would stop her on the street or in the market and tell her she was their favorite teacher,” Williams recalled.

Munger was also active in the Santa Paula Ebell Club, the Santa Paula Garden Club and the California Teachers Assn.

Survivors include Williams of Santa Paula; a son, Bert Munger of Ventura; nine grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her husband Burt.

The graveside service is scheduled for 10 a.m. today at Santa Paula Cemetery in Santa Paula. Arrangements are under the direction of Skillin-Carroll Mortuary, Santa Paula.