A former nun who for 43 years taught high school in Chicago and its suburbs, Ruth E. Schweitzer, 74, died after a long illness and the return of cancer Sunday, Feb. 15, in St. Francis Hospital, Evanston. She had lived in Des Plaines since 1986. “She would do anything for anyone, and it was very difficult to ever pick up the check,” said her sister, Mary Nolan. Born in Chicago and raised in Berwyn, Miss Schweitzer graduated from Nazareth Academy in La Grange Park in 1947. She spent a year at Mundelein College in Chicago, then worked during the day and obtained a bachelor’s degree at night from Loyola University in Chicago. She received a master’s degree from Rosary College, now Dominican University, in River Forest. She entered the Sisters of St. Joseph of La Grange in La Grange Park in 1950 and began teaching English to elementary and high school students in the area. Miss Schweitzer left the order in 1969. She taught for 24 years at what became Clemente High School in Chicago. Mass will be said at 11 a.m. Thursday in St. Mary’s Catholic Church, 794 Pearson St., Des Plaines.
