Ruthe Whickum
(1930-1992)
Ruthe McClendon Whickum '72 earned her juris doctor from The University of Toledo
College of Law while working as a counselor with Toledo Public Schools. After passing
the bar in 1972, Ruthe practiced law in the offices of attorney Eddie Cole ’51, while
still working full-time at the school. In 1984, she retired from Toledo Public Schools
and began working as an attorney full-time. Hard-working, assertive, thought-provoking,
and having no fear of failure, Ruthe was the first woman in Lucas County certified
to try death-penalty cases.