Ruth A. Gmeiner

Ruth (Concannon) Gmeiner, 73, of Dayton, passed away May 29, 2020 at Siena Woods Care Community. She was born on December 21, 1946 in Dayton, Ohio to Thomas and Victoria (Cottle) Concannon. Ruth is survived by her husband of 40 years, Mark, her son and his wife, Tim and Shahidah Gmeiner; granddaughter, Noma. She is also survived by one sister and her husband, Fran (Concannon) and Larry West; three sisters-in-law and their husbands, Kathleen (Gmeiner) and Doug Todd, Mary Sue (Gmeiner) and John Wallace and Julie (Gmeiner) and Ed Brooks; brother-in-law and his wife, Tom and Jayne Gmeiner; along with numerous nieces, nephews, cousins and one special friend Geri Julien.
Along with her parents, Ruth is preceded in death by her brother, Michael Concannon and her sister, Marybeth (Concannon) Geimer (spouse Ken Geimer).
Ruth attended Precious Blood Grade School, Julienne High School and graduated from Good Samaritan Nursing School in 1968 with her R.N. Degree. She recently celebrated her 50th anniversary of becoming an R.N. in 2018. Though disabled in 1988, she worked in a variety of nursing jobs including hospice, outpatient surgery at CMC and varied nursing assignments at GSH. She spent the bulk of her nursing career at the GSH mental health outpatient center as a nurse therapist, group therapist and specialist in gerontology. She once arranged for famed author Elizabeth Kubler Ross to give her working associates a workshop on death and dying.
Ruth was deeply sensitive and empathetic towards all. She loved people and specifically loved to learn about people from different cultures. She was an avid learner and a curious person by nature. She never met a stranger. Ruth was a kind, sweet and non-judgmental person. She loved to spend Saturdays having her nails done or her hair cut. She was always interested in sports, particularly the summer and winter Olympics. She was a life-long Notre Dame Football fan and rarely missed a game.
She felt a life-long connection to Ireland and her Catholic faith. She most enjoyed singing in the choir at her adopted church, Our Lady of Grace. Ruth also felt a deep connection to both her Southern Kentucky roots (proudly referred to as her briar lineage) and Native American Cherokee heritage.
Ruth never strayed too far from her inner-child. She was a humble, sentimental soul who felt and loved deeply. She shared this love purely and unconditionally with her husband of 40 years and her son. She will be terribly missed by them and all who knew her. Please send any contributions to Our Lady of Grace Catholic Church, 220 W Siebenthaler Ave, Dayton, OH 45405; Hospice of Dayton, 324 Wilmington Ave, Dayton, OH 45420 or to Compassus Hospice, 7755 Paragon Rd #106, Dayton, OH 45459.