Notre Dame Academy has received a $1.995 million bequest from the estate of one of its alumna, Ruth Wehage Schroer ’38. With the exception of previous gifts made to Notre Dame Academy from the Sisters of Notre Dame, this is the largest individual gift ever made in support of the all-girls college-preparatory high school. The gift will support Notre Dame Academy’s Excellence Without Boundaries – Empowering 21st Century Women Capital Campaign and will establish the Ruth Wehage Schroer Scholarship.
Notre Dame Academy invited Ruth’s surviving family members to a special ceremony this morning where NDA President Dr. Laura Koehl announced the news of the $1.995 million bequest to the NDA community. “As an Notre Dame Academy alumna, Ruth Wehage Schroer clearly lived the mission of her alma mater by making a difference in the world,” said NDA President Dr. Laura Koehl. She added, “Ruth’s generous gift will help generations of students receive an NDA education in a 21st Century learning environment.”
In line with Ruth’s enthusiasm for education and libraries, her gift will support the addition of NDA’s 21st Century Collaborative Learning Center. This collaborative learning space will support the new and innovative ways that NDA students utilize a library to access online resources and collaborate with others to problem solve and create new ideas.
Ruth Wehage Schroer graduated from Notre Dame Academy in Covington, Kentucky in 1938 and attended Xavier University Evening College. Ruth married Ralph Schroer in 1942 and the couple moved to Cocoa Beach in 1958 where Ruth worked as an executive secretary for NASA Kennedy Space Center aircraft operations. Ruth was a Charter Member of the Church of Our Saviour where she served as a Eucharistic Minister and past president of the Catholic Women’s Club. Ruth was also a devoted volunteer and passionate supporter of the Cocoa Beach Library. She retired from NASA in 1975 and volunteered as a tax counselor for the elderly until 1996. Ruth’s husband of 57 years passed away in 1999. On November 21, 2015, Ruth passed away at the age of 95.