Ruth Collins Sharp Altshuler (1924 – December 8, 2017) was an American philanthropist living in

Dallas, Texas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County ...

. The '' Dallas Morning News'' wrote that she helped raise tens of millions of dollars for charity. Altshuler was the first woman to serve or chair several boards, including the Salvation Army Dallas Advisory Board, the board of

Goodwill Industries Goodwill Industries International Inc., often shortened in speech and writing to Goodwill (stylized as goodwill), is an American nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization that provides job training, employment placement services, and other community-bas ...

, and the chair of the Board of Trustees of

Southern Methodist University , mottoeng = "The truth will make you free" , established = , type = Private research university , accreditation = SACS , academic_affiliations = , religious_affiliation = United Methodist Church , president = R. Gerald Turner , ...

. She was also inducted into the Texas Woman's Hall of Fame.

Early life

Altshuler grew up in a mansion with her two brothers and parents in

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

. Her father, Carr Collins Sr., had founded the Fidelity Union Life Insurance Company in the 1920s. Altshuler graduated from Woodrow Wilson High School in Dallas, and spent her summers at an exclusive girls' camp in Texas Hill Country. One of her brothers,

James M. Collins James Mitchell Collins (April 29, 1916 – July 21, 1989) was an American businessman and a Republican who represented the Third Congressional District of Texas from 1968-1983. The district was based at the time around Irving in Dallas C ...

, would become a member of the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...

. She attended

where she met her husband, a naval aviator, when she was a junior. They were married, but her first husband died in combat during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

Adulthood

Altshuler started working at Dallas Love Field and met her second husband, Charles S. Sharp, whom she married in 1947. While pregnant with the first of her three children, she looked into joining the

Junior League The Association of Junior Leagues International, Inc. (Junior League or JL) is a private, nonprofit educational women's volunteer organization aimed at improving communities and the social, cultural, and political fabric of civil society. With ...

. She started working in the Junior League the next year. In the Junior League, she saw people who were in need and she began to volunteer. Altshuler was inspired to do philanthropy because of her parents and also because of the ideas of

Albert Schweitzer Ludwig Philipp Albert Schweitzer (; 14 January 1875 – 4 September 1965) was an Alsatian-German/French polymath. He was a theologian, organist, musicologist, writer, humanitarian, philosopher, and physician. A Lutheran minister, Schweit ...

. In 1960, she was appointed to head the woman's division of the 1960 Dallas County Community Chest Campaign. In 1974, she was the first woman to lead the Millionaires Chorus for the Salvation Army Christmas show. When her brother, Jim Collins, ran for a Senate seat in 1982, she helped him with his campaign. She traveled across

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

to promote her brother's candidacy. She didn't like to talk about politics, and instead focused on the kind of person her brother was. Charles Sharp eventually was diagnosed with

Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a long-term degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that mainly affects the motor system. The symptoms usually emerge slowly, and as the disease worsens, non-motor symptoms becom ...

and died in 1984. Altshuler remarried to a physician, Ken Altshuler. Altshuler helped form the Tocqueville Society in 1986 when she asked more than 100 friends to help her support the

United Way United Way is an international network of over 1,800 local nonprofit fundraising affiliates. United Way was the largest nonprofit organization in the United States by donations from the public, prior to 2016. United Way organizations raise funds ...

. She and her friends raised $1 million and then formed the Tocqueville Society. In 1987, she was inducted into the Texas Woman's Hall of Fame and, in 1989, she was inducted as a member of the inaugural class of the Woodrow Wilson High School Hall of Fame. In 1992, she personally donated $1 million to the United Way of Dallas. Also in 1992, she was a co-chair on the committee to recruit advisors to Ross Perot's presidential campaign. Altshuler was friends with Perot's wife. In 2008, the Smithsonian Institution's

Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars (or Wilson Center) is a quasi-government entity and think tank which conducts research to inform public policy. Located in the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in Wash ...

gave Altshuler their Award for Public Service. In 2013, she was in charge of planning the event commemorating the 50th anniversary of the

assassination of John F. Kennedy John F. Kennedy, the 35th president of the United States, was assassinated on Friday, November 22, 1963, at 12:30 p.m. CST in Dallas, Texas, while riding in a presidential motorcade through Dealey Plaza. Kennedy was in the vehicle with ...

Death

Altshuler died on December 8, 2017, at age 93. She had suffered complications from a broken hip. Her memorial service was held on December 14 at the Highland Park Methodist Church.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Altshuler, Ruth Sharp 1924 births 2017 deaths American women philanthropists People from Dallas Southern Methodist University people Woodrow Wilson High School (Dallas) alumni 20th-century American philanthropists 20th-century women philanthropists