Ruth Blackburn North was an elementary school and music teacher in Baltimore, Maryland, and in Manhattan and Brooklyn, New York, and a church choir director and keyboard performer. The oldest of eight children, she left home for Emmanuel Missionary College (now Andrews University) at age 15, hoping to be a foreign missionary. She began teaching at age 18 and retired at age 75.

Following her marriage to James North, a pastor, in 1938, she devoted 29 years to homemaking, which included raising James Jr., an adopted daughter, and two foster children. When her husband pastored the Springfield Gardens Church in New York, she served as senior choir director and as organist and pianist. Her son, James Jr., also an accomplished pianist, is a seminary professor at Andrews University.

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