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CHESTERTOWN Ruth B. Wiemer of Chestertown died Tuesday, Oct. 14, 2008, at
Heron Point. She was 92.
She was born April 11, 1916, in Orange, N.J., the daughter of the late William Lawrence
and May Chandler Brunyate. After graduating from Columbia High School in S. Orange,
N.J., in 1934, she attended Hollins College in Roanoke, Va., where she received her AB
degree in Psychology in 1938. After graduating from the Philadelphia School of
Occupational Therapy in 1940, she became an occupational therapist at the Seashore
House in Atlantic City, N.J. From 1943 to 1961, she served as Director of Occupational
Therapy at the Children's Rehabilitation Institute in Reisterstown, which became the
Kennedy-Kreiger Institute of Johns Hopkins Hospital. In 1962, she accepted a position
as Assistant Professor of Occupational Therapy at the Milwaukee Downer College in
Milwaukee, and later that same year was employed by the State of Maryland
Department of Health as a consultant in occupational therapy. In 1963, she entered the
Masters program at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, earning her masters degree
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in education. In 1966, she became the chief of the Division of Occupational Therapy for
the Maryland Department of Health, retiring from this position in January 1980.
Mrs. Weimer was well recognized for her outstanding work in the field of occupational
therapy. Among her many awards were the establishment of the Ruth W. Brunyate
Lectureship by the Community College of Baltimore, a Presidential Commendation in
1979 and an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters by Towson University. She was a
member of the National Health Council Board, and from 1964 to 1967, served as
President of the American Occupational Therapy Association.
She was an active member of St. Mark's United Methodist Church in Easton and the
P.E.O. Sisterhood. In addition to her professional accomplishments, Ruth was an avid
knitter, did beautiful needlepoint and dabbled in watercolors.
On March 21, 1970, Ruth married Christopher H. Wiemer, one of the founders of the
United Cerebral Palsy Association and former executive director of the Kennedy-Kreiger
Institute. They retired from Baltimore to Easton in 1979.
Following the death of her husband in 1998, Ruth made her home at Heron Point in
Chestertown. While at Heron Point, she served on the board of trustees and was liaison
to the Resident Council.
Ruth is survived by a stepdaughter, Mary Louise Wiemer of Baltimore.
She was preceded in death by her brother, William Brunyate, in 1997.
Interment will be private at Oxford Cemetery.