Melvin T. Ruth, a retired Martin Marietta vice president, died Jan. 2 at Gilchrist Hospice Care of complications from a stroke. He was 93 and lived in Parkville.
Born in Baltimore and raised in Highlandtown, he was the son of Sylvester Ruth and Nellie Kimmitt Ruth. He attended Sacred Heart of Jesus School and was a 1939 Polytechnic Institute graduate. He was a third cousin of Babe Ruth.
Mr. Ruth started work at the old Glenn L. Martin Co. and was an assembler on the Martin Model 167, the Maryland light bomber. He enlisted in the Army Air Forces in 1944 and was stationed in Florida. He left military service in 1945.
He rejoined the Martin Co. and rose from assembler to foreman, general foreman and then manager. He was the production manager on the Vanguard and Titan missiles, as well as other programs.
Mr. Ruth later became executive director of the firm's Middle River plant and retired in 1986 as vice president of programs. His duties included the B-1B bomber and thrust reverser programs. He had 47 years of service.
He co-founded the Retirees Association of Martin Marietta and was an active volunteer at St. Ursula Roman Catholic Church in Parkville. He ran annual dances at the Alcazar Ballroom on Cathedral Street and chaired carnivals and oyster and ham dinners. He also spent 20 years as a volunteer at a Northeast Baltimore nursing home. Additionally, he mentored students at the Villa Cresta Elementary School.
Mr. Ruth received the Archdiocesan Medal of Honor in 2000 for outstanding work. He also received the Sister Anne Mooney Award in 2004 from his parish.
A Mass of Christian burial will be celebrated at 10 a.m. Tuesday at St. Ursula Roman Catholic Church, 8800 Harford Road.
Survivors include his wife of 72 years, the former Dorothy I. Rehberger; three sons, Thomas Ruth of Aberdeen, John Ruth of Parkville and James Ruth of Carney; a daughter, Christine Lorber of Parkville; two sisters, Lorraine Hirsch of Essex and Elrita Albrent; 10 grandchildren; nine great-grandchildren; and a great-great-grandson. A son, Raymond Ruth died in 2001. Another son, Matthew Ruth, died in 1983.