Ruth Pomaranc, 73, a longtime teacher who was one of the first Dearborn Park residents and a former president of the Windy City Knitting Guild, died of breast cancer Wednesday, March 8, in her home. Born in Chicago and raised in Hyde Park, Mrs. Pomaranc spent most of her life in Chicago, except for a stint at Smith College in Massachusetts where she earned a bachelor’s degree. A lifelong student, Mrs. Pomaranc earned three master’s degrees–one in humanities from the University of Chicago, one in education from National-Louis University and one in special education from the Institute for Psychoanalysis. She attended Northwestern University’s law school but dropped out when she married. Mrs. Pomaranc taught at public and private schools in Chicago, the Madden Mental Health Center and Anshe Emet Day School before retiring in the late 1980s. After she was divorced about 20 years ago, she moved to Dearborn Park, which was being converted from railroad yards into a neighborhood. Over the years she was extremely active in the community and served as president of the condominium board. She was an avid knitter, a hobby she learned from her grandmother. During World War II, she knit socks each week for Bundles for Britain, an American war campaign to donate clothing and other items to England. She made weekly trips downtown, where she dropped off the socks she knit and picked up “nasty green yarn” to make more, said her daughter Joan. In ensuing years she knit sweaters for family and friends but never knit another sock, her daughter said. “It’s too much work, and nobody sees them when they are done,” she used to tell her daughter. Other survivors include two other daughters, Anne Corwin and Kaye White; a brother, Herbert Reis; and four grandchildren. Services were held Friday.
