Ruth Ann Dunn

Ruth Ann Dunn, M.D. passed away October 31, 2025 at the age of 65. Ruth Ann dedicated her life to serving others. During her more than 30-year career, Dr. Ruth Ann Dunn was a pediatrician, medical educator, public health official, and public-school teacher. Following her award of an M.D. from the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, Ruth Ann completed a 3-year pediatric residency at UCLA and UTHSCSA. She then sought public health training as an Epidemic Intelligence Service Officer at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta, Georgia, and as a preventive medicine resident with the CDC and the Michigan Department of Public Health (MDPH). She held an assistant professor position at Michigan State University, working as a pediatrician, medical educator, and medical researcher. As MDPH's Immunization Chief, she coordinated state efforts to improve the 2-year-old immunization rate, which was the lowest of the 50 states. Michigan's rise to 38th place after three years involved collaboration with local health officials, private practitioners, the governor's office, and advocacy groups. Ruth Ann also attended national meetings of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices as the MDPH vaccine lab representative.

Ruth Ann pivoted from medicine midway through her career to earn a teaching certificate from Lake Superior State University. She then taught science classes and French language for nearly two decades in Vermont public schools, including Flood Brook, Twin Valley High, and Leland & Grey Union Middle High. In addition to teaching, Ruth Ann volunteered as a sideline physician for her school sports teams. Late in her career, she took a one-year sabbatical from teaching to serve as an Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellow in the U.S. Senate in the Office of Senator Brian Schatz (Hawaii).

Ruth Ann was the recipient of multiple awards for her achievements, including the Achievement Medal from the U.S. Public Health Service; American Academy of Pediatrics Lay Education Award, Distinguished Service Award from the Michigan Association of Local Public Health Physicians Forum, and the New England Institute of Chemists’ Secondary School Chemistry Teacher Award.

Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to Joyce and Marvin Dunn, Ruth Ann subsequently grew up in Bethesda, Maryland and San Diego, California. She was a gifted singer and accomplished pianist. She sang in multiple choirs, starting in La Jolla middle and high school and at UCLA, then with the Texas Bach Choir while in medical school, and finally with choirs in Vermont and D.C. During high school she competed in the San Diego Junior Miss pageant and won, singing an opera aria for her talent portion. She then competed at the state level Junior Miss pageant and was awarded fourth place that same year.

Ruth Ann loved classical music, opera, and classic rock. She loved all things science, especially astronomy, and kept up with the latest scientific and space discoveries. She was an avid hiker, kayaker, a lover of nature, and world traveler. She summited Mount Whitney and the Vermont mountains, took many vacations with her best friend Joyce Hassell, including hiking along the Southern coast of England and camping and kayaking along the Saint Lawrence Seaway, and she also walked the Camino de Santiago in Spain with a group of students from her school. She loved British comedy including Monty Python’s Flying Circus, Rowan Atkinson, and Faulty Towers, as well as Pee-wee Herman and early SNL. She was a huge supporter of animal rights and human rights causes. She adopted and cared for more than a dozen rescued cats throughout her life and regularly donated to cat rescue organizations.

Ruth Ann is survived by her brother Philip Dunn and sister-in-law Stacy Dart Dunn, sister Martha Kovac and brother-in-law John Kovac, half-brother Clement Dunn, stepsister Jeannette Boot, nieces Clarissa Dunn and Morgan Kovac, nephews Philip Dunn and Samuel Kovac, niece-in-law Tiffany Dunn, as well as a great niece, great nephews, and many cousins.

For those wishing to make a contribution in her memory, please consider donating to Tabby’s Place (Donate in Memory or Honor – Tabby's Place), ASPCA (You can help save animals today. | ASPCA), Humane Society of the United States (Humane World for Animals), Doctors Without Borders (Donate to Help save lives. Donate now) or the Dementia Society of America (Donate | Dementia Society of America®).

May Ruth Ann rest in peace and her memory abide for blessing.

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