Dates

• Existence: 1941

Biography

Ruth Schanke, born in 1941 the daughter of a Lutheran minister, majored in sociology at Midland College in Fremont, Nebraska, graduating in 1963. In 1964 she married Robert Schanke, who later became a professor of theater at Central College in Pella, Iowa. A daughter, Julie, was born in 1967. After twelve years of marriage the Schankes together faced the issue of Bob Schanke's homosexuality. They stayed married tenmore years, divorcing in 1987. In 1994 Ruth Schanke organized a support group at Plymouth Congregational Church in DesMoines called Spouses of Gays and Lesbians. Ruth Schanke, a teacher and social worker, became an administrator in the Iowa Department of Human Services in Des Moines, Iowa.

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