She was 92.

Ruth was born on August 22, 1933 in Lake Leelanau. She was the oldest of three children born to Elsie Kovarik Belanger and Daniel Belanger. Ruth graduated from St. Mary’s High School as class valedictorian in 1951 then attended and graduated from Marygrove College in Detroit.

Following her freshman year at Marygrove College, Ruth won the title of National Cherry Queen in July 1952. With the title came a substantial college scholarship and a 10-day promotional tour that August, including stops in New York City, Washington, D.C., Boston and Chicago. She was interviewed on several television and radio programs representing the National Red Cherry Institute. During these appearances she extolled the superb quality of Michigan tart cherries and demonstrated the basics of baking a cherry pie.

After graduating from Marygrove College in 1955, she taught at a Detroit-area elementary school before marrying her teen-age sweetheart, Paul Leugers of Cincinnati, in 1957. The couple met as youths in Lake Leelanau, where his parents owned a cottage on South Lake Leelanau Drive about a mile south of Lake Leelanau since the 1930s. She was about 14 when they met, but they didn’t begin dating until several years later. She and Paul moved from Traverse City to Cincinnati in 1963. The couple had six children together, including three daughters and three sons. She returned to full time teaching when their youngest child entered elementary school. She taught language arts at her parish school, All Saints School in Cincinnati for over twenty years.

She and Paul loved to travel and made road trips every year to see the US and Canada. Their trips included most of the western and Midwest states. They visited the Canadian Maritime provinces and had a memorable visit to Plamondon, Alberta, Canada to reunite with long-lost distant cousins on the Belanger-Plamondon side of the family. Ruth was an avid reader, especially of travel books. She was a loving mother, grandmother, and mother-in-law to all.

A highlight of Ruth and Paul’s years were the annual weeks in July and August when all their children and grandchildren converged on Leelanau County to spend two weeks together. Although hectic and crowded, those weeks in the Leugers family cottage on Lake Leelanau were weeks they always looked forward to. Ruth was famous in the family for her ability to start a bonfire, required for the traditional making of s’mores by all.

Ruth’s family, extended family, and friends know of her exceptional skills in the kitchen. She made endless jars of jam, applesauce, and canned fruit from the bounty of Leelanau County’s orchards and strawberry patches. Her little jars of jam were given as holiday presents and thank-you gifts and treasured by all who were lucky to receive them. Well into her late 80’s she baked her children’s and Paul’s favorite cakes and pies, tasks which were increasingly difficult as her mobility declined, and which often took her several days to accomplish. Her German chocolate cakes and cherry pies were her specialties.

Everyone who knew Ruth even casually knew about her penchant for letter writing. She sent cheery, newsy letters and thank-you notes to everyone in her orbit, sometimes mailing 10 or 15 letters daily. Family and friends received those letters weekly, or more often especially she found an interesting article which she had painstakingly cut from the Leelanau Enterprise or Cincinnati Enquirer.

When Ruth was in her mid-80’s, she and Paul moved from their family home to a nearby community where they made deep and lasting friendships. Their friends and many Leugers family relatives provided endless hours of support and friendship, errand running and sometimes trips to the emergency room. They unselfishly included them in family gatherings, holiday dinners, and provided companionship and help with so many daily activities.

For nearly every one of their 67 years of marriage, Ruth and Paul spent summers in Lake Leelanau in the family home on Philips Street next to NJ’s Grocery, fondly known as the ‘Blue House.’ After retirement they stayed at the Blue House from May through September, before returning to Cincinnati for the winter. Following a severe fall, she and Paul moved to an apartment in Minneapolis where they were close to two of their sons and three grandchildren. Although her declining health prevented her from visiting Lake Leelanau in 2025, her children and their families felt her presence in spirit.

Ruth was preceded in death by her brother, Gregory, in 1957, and both parents. Ruth is survived by a brother, Daniel Belanger, of Bay City, Michigan and his wife Molly. Her children are Camille Leugers and spouse James Musser of Houston, TX and Suttons Bay, their daughters Sophie and Grace; Adrienne Leugers and spouse Drew Chilson, of Ketchum ID; Madeleine Leugers Francavilla, husband Mark of Santa Barbara, CA, and children, Mac and Will; Peter Leugers, his spouse Lauren Ferrera of Minneapolis, MN and their children, Gillian and Flynn; Eric Leugers, his spouse Linda Carlson of Minneapolis, their daughter, Etta; Martin Leugers and his spouse Tricia Lee Wright of San Francisco, CA.

Her children extend their deepest gratitude to the staff of Grace Hospice of Minneapolis and staff and residents of The Pillars of Prospect Park, who accompanied Ruth, Paul and their family so lovingly.

Donations in Ruth’s memory can be made to Leelanau Christian Neighbors and the Leelanau Conservancy. A funeral Mass and celebration to honor Ruth’s life will be held next summer in Lake Leelanau at St. Mary’s Church, the date to be determined.