Delvee Family Association
The Descendants of Peter and Lucy (Town) Delva meeting together since 1886
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Ruth Kellom

Ruth Kellom

Female 1925 - 2014  (88 years)

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  • Name Ruth Kellom 
    Birth 02 Sep 1925  Winchester, Cheshire County, New Hampshire Find all individuals with events at this location  [1, 2
    Census 1930 (Age 5)  Winchester, Cheshire County, New Hampshire Find all individuals with events at this location  [3
    Census 1940 (Age 15)  Winchester, Cheshire County, New Hampshire Find all individuals with events at this location  [4
    Education 1939-1943 (Age 18)  Winchester, Cheshire County, New Hampshire Find all individuals with events at this location  [2
    Education 1943-1947 (Age 22)  Syracuse, Onondaga County, New York Find all individuals with events at this location  [2
    History According to her obituary, she "was a 1943 graduate of Thayer High School in Winchester.

    During her school years, she worked at Winchester National Bank performing general office and bookkeeping duties. She was a lab technician at A.C. Lawrence Leather Co. and worked at the Ashuelot Paper Co., setting up its first office.

    A 1947 graduate of Syracuse (N.Y.) University, she majored in advertising in the college of business management. From 1993 to 1999, she completed 26 courses in Keene State College?s Elderhostel CALL Program, including many classes in writing. During her 38-year career at Markem Corp. in Keene, she participated in training programs in marketing, human relations and computer skills. She also attended American Management Association classes in advertising, sales promotion and personnel management.

    Her mother was the lifetime organist at the Federated Church of Winchester and her father a prominent banker in Winchester. After her mother's passing, the three remaining members of the Kellom family relocated to Keene in the late 1970s and lived on Woodridge Road, where she continued living into retirement. A lengthy stay at Maplewood Nursing Home in Westmoreland preceded her final years at the Woodward Home.

    It was at Markem Corp. where she made her mark. In 1947, her first position was as the assistant to the advertising and sales promotion manager, responsible for writing ads, organizing trade show displays and producing publications. She became the manager of the department and was responsible for media advertising, publicity, direct mail, trade shows, product literature, machine manuals, price books, newsletters and staff training. A full-service print shop, photographer, dark room and commercial art department were part of this operation.

    She transferred to the personnel/human resources division of Markem Corp., where she worked for 21 years, and was responsible for hiring an estimated 1,000 people. She declined advancement to division manager but was qualified in all aspects of wage and salary administration, recruiting, hiring, benefits, safety, health, employee records, policies and government regulations. She represented Markem at regional meetings and events and was responsible for family days, tours and recreation/sports activities. Her last title at Markem was professional employment and communications administrator, concentrating on recruiting and hiring professionals as well as communications to employees worldwide. It was in this role that she developed a close friendship with Lael Wertenbaker, the renowned author and foreign correspondent for Time magazine. Markem Chairman David F. Putnam hired Wertenbaker to write a high-end corporate magazine and appointed her as editor. Along with a young graphic designer, this team produced a series of Markem's World magazines over a period of eight years.

    During her tenure, she worked for three generations of the Putnam family, including Claude, David, Tom and Jim. In 1965, she was sent to England for three months, to help close one office and establish a new office in Rugby for Markem's British member company. She wrote of this adventure and others in her Keene State College journaling class.

    At one time, her reputation as a gourmet cook and her extensive recipe collection made her the subject of an article in a local paper. An avid storyteller, she often spoke of her college roommate Polly (Cote) Boynton Paquette and friend Maybre Wright, three lifelong chums who traveled extensively, including trips to Perkins Cove and Ogunquit, Maine, to visit another close friend, Cherry Scott; and several trips to England and Europe, the last to see the fjords of Norway. She also had three fond friends she referred to as her "adopted daughters," Keene State College English professor Jan Youga, Keene State College math professor Susan Whittemore and Ruth Simpson Sterling, who reported to her at Markem. Having never married or had children herself, she enjoyed "adopting" friends of various ages, most notably "hires" at Markem, of whom she was particularly proud, such as Jennie Norman.

    Her community service included terms on many boards of directors, including the American Red Cross, Keene Senior Center, Monadnock Hospice (now Hospice at HCS), Keene State College Child Development Center, Monadnock United Way, Winchester District Nurses Association (now part of Home Healthcare, Hospice and Community Services), a group she worked with for more than 14 years in various volunteer capacities, Monadnock Family Services, and the New Hampshire Heart Association. She was a trustee of the Winchester Public Library, served on the advisory boards for the Keene Family YMCA, Keene High School, Monadnock Regional High School, Cheshire Medical Center and Monadnock Music. She was a deaconess and served on many committees at the United Church of Winchester before moving to Keene and becoming a member of the United Church of Christ in Keene.
    Residence 1993 (Age 68)  Keene, Cheshire County, New Hampshire Find all individuals with events at this location  [5
    Death 27 Mar 2014  Keene, Cheshire County, New Hampshire Find all individuals with events at this location  [2
    Agency: Woodward Home 
    Burial 22 May 2014  Evergreen Cemetery, Winchester, Cheshire County, New Hampshire, USA Find all individuals with events at this location  [2
    Siblings 1 Sibling 
    Person ID I488  | Clan of Jonathan, Tribe of Peter
    Last Modified 16 Sep 2015 

    Father Franklin Patton Kellom,   b. 24 Nov 1893, Concord, Merrimack County, New Hampshire Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 31 Aug 1981, Keene, Cheshire County, New Hampshire Find all individuals with events at this location (Age 87 years) 
    Mother Nellie Delvy Plaistridge,   b. 14 Sep 1897, Winchester, Cheshire County, New Hampshire Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 7 Dec 1973, Winchester, Cheshire County, New Hampshire Find all individuals with events at this location (Age 76 years) 
    Marriage 12 Nov 1921  Winchester, Cheshire County, New Hampshire Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Age at Marriage He : 28 years - She : 24 years and 2 months. 
    Family ID F231  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  • Event Map
    Link to Google MapsBirth - 02 Sep 1925 - Winchester, Cheshire County, New Hampshire Link to Google Earth
    Link to Google MapsCensus - 1930 - Winchester, Cheshire County, New Hampshire Link to Google Earth
    Link to Google MapsCensus - 1940 - Winchester, Cheshire County, New Hampshire Link to Google Earth
    Link to Google MapsEducation - 1939-1943 - Winchester, Cheshire County, New Hampshire Link to Google Earth
    Link to Google MapsEducation - 1943-1947 - Syracuse, Onondaga County, New York Link to Google Earth
    Link to Google MapsResidence - 1993 - Keene, Cheshire County, New Hampshire Link to Google Earth
    Link to Google MapsDeath - 27 Mar 2014 - Keene, Cheshire County, New Hampshire Link to Google Earth
    Link to Google MapsBurial - 22 May 2014 - Evergreen Cemetery, Winchester, Cheshire County, New Hampshire, USA Link to Google Earth
     = Link to Google Earth 
    Pin Legend  : Address       : Location       : City/Town       : County/Shire       : State/Province       : Country       : Not Set

  • Photos
    Ruth Kellom
    Ruth Kellom

  • Sources 
    1. [S388] Delvee Historian. Delvee Family Records 1887 - 1988, (Warwick, Massachusetts: manuscript, 1988).

    2. [S811] Obituary of Ruth Kellom, (Keene, New Hampshire: Keene Sentinel, March 2014).

    3. [s509] 1930 U.S. Federal Census , (Provo, Utah: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2002).

    4. [s806] 1940 U.S. Federal Census, (Provo, Utah: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012).

    5. [S500] U.S. Public Records Index, (Provo, Utah: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010).