Wife of George Town’s first mayor laid to rest

GEORGE TOWN: The wife of the late D.S. Ramanathan, the first mayor of George Town, has been laid to rest at the Western Road Christian Cemetery in Jalan Utama near here.

Ruth Samathanam Ramanathan was bu­ried next to her husband and son John Sarapathy Ramanathan, who passed away in 1973 and 1970 respectively. She was 98.

The cortege had earlier arrived at the ce­metery at about 12.45pm from the Nirvana Memorial Centre in Kuala Lumpur, where the funeral service was held on Wednesday.

Ruth’s youngest daughter, Lakshmi Lucy Ramanathan, 59, said her mother died peacefully of old age at her home in Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday.

She said her mother was a music teacher who became the first person in Penang to obtain the Licentiate of the Trinity College of Music in 1936.

“She also trained (Penang’s renowned) concert pianist Dennis Lee who is based in London,” she said.

Ruth’s brother, Datuk Dr Peter Vannia­singham, 90, said yesterday marked the 78th wedding anniversary of Ruth and Ramanathan.

Also present was Think City Penang chairman Datuk Anwar Fazal, who described Ruth as a gentle and dedicated person.

“I knew her through her late husband whom I worked closely with when I served as assistant secretary of the City Council of George Town,” he added.

Ramanathan, a former teacher and councillor from the Labour Party of Malaya, was the first mayor of George Town.

Ruth’s father, Kanagasabapathy Vannia­singham, founded the Tamil Methodist Church in Penang.

Ruth leaves behind three other children – David, Sarojini Ruth and Peter.