Los
Angeles County
Biographies
RUTH W. KALL
In these days when the lack of
physical fitness in the nation’s youth has been widely discussed, it is
reassuring to find a dedicated person like Ruth Whitley Kall, who has been
working energetically for a number of years to develop and foster the physical
capabilities of youngsters. Mrs. Kall
has been aquatic supervisor for the Alhambra Young Men’s Christian Association
since 1957, and before holding that position, was a swimming instructor for
five years. She has also served as
instructor for aquatic institutes in the area to qualify teachers for the Young
Men’s Christian Association district and has been water safety instructor for the
American Red Cross since 1955. In 1959
Mrs. Kall spent ten days in Chicago as the delegate for the Pacific Southwest
Area to the Young Men’s Christian Association’s Fourth National Aquatic
Conference, and is currently a member of the Young Men’s Christian
Association’s National Aquatic Committee for Research on the National Testing
Program.
Compatible
with her interest in youth and physical fitness, has been Mrs. Kall’s work with
the Girl Scouts as a troop leader from 1949 to 1952, even though she has no
daughters, and as business manager for Girl Scout Camp Loomis in 1953. She is a past instructor in cycling for Boy
Scouts earning merit badges; for nine years she has been swimming and life
saving counselor for San Gabriel Valley Boy Scouts and Santa Anita Council Girl
Scouts to help them work for merit badges.
Born
in San Antonio, Texas, on December 17, 1916, Mrs. Kall is the daughter of Ellis
and Tillie (Shields) Whitley. Her father
was a building contractor in southwest Texas who retired in 1935 and came to
California, becoming a rancher in Lancaster.
Mrs. Kall attended Prairie Lea Elementary School and graduated in 1933
from Prairie Lea High School, where she was editor-in-chief of the school
newspaper and class poet in her senior year.
In
1936, her first year in California, she was a practical nurse in Los Angeles,
and later worked at Colby Ranch.
Honored
by a local radio program as “Woman of the Day”, this vigorous woman has been an
active participant in various fields of community life. She has taught Sunday school for the past twenty-five
years. Formerly she was deacon for the
Alhambra First Presbyterian Church; now a member of the Alhambra First Lutheran
Church, she teaches a ninth grade Bible class.
Teaching
is the natural expression of Mrs. Kall’s abundant vitality – she may be found
teaching Sunday school or giving piano lessons to neighborhood children. For four years she taught knitting at the
Presbyterian Settlement House, and teaching swimming is an everyday occurrence.
Mrs.
Kall has been a member of the Soroptimist Club of Alhambra since 1959. She has served one term as its treasurer and
is beginning her 1961 – 1962 term in the same capacity. She has worked untiringly on the Alhambra
Community Chest and Alhambra United Fund drives, and has raised money for
infant care at the Alhambra Day Nursery, for the Mental Health and Retarded
Children’s Association, for the Young Men’s Christian Association’s Youth and
Government, and for the Alhambra Community Hospital.
On
March 3, 1938, the former Miss Ruth Whitley was married to Walter J. Kall in
Los Angeles. He had served as a master
sergeant with the United States Army in World War I. He worked for Barker Brothers in delivery
before starting his own business, Wilshire Trucking Service, in 1943, which he
operated until his death.
Mrs.
Kall’s son is Frank Jay Kall. He
attended Alhambra Lutheran Elementary School and was graduated from San Gabriel
High School. He is now a history major
at the University of California at Santa Barbara. A member of the Reserve Officers Training
Corps, he is affiliated with Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity.
In
addition to her numerous civic and philanthropic activities, Mrs. Kall finds
time for her hobbies, which include gardening, sewing, piano and other
music…and swimming, of course.
Transcribed by
V. Gerald Iaquinta.
Source:
Historical Volume & Reference Works Including Alhambra, Monterey Park,
Rosemead, San Gabriel & Temple City, by Robert P. Studer,
Pages 721-723, Historical Publ., Los Angeles, California. 1962.
© 2013 V. Gerald Iaquinta.
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NUGGET'S LOS ANGELES BIOGRAPHIES