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In Memory Of Our Poets

Dr. Ruth I. Rankin (Diaz-Plaja) (1920-2006) - Class Of 1938

DIAZ-PLAJA, Dr. Ruth Rankin, singer, musician, teacher, audiologist and speech pathologist, clinician, professor and inventor - passed into the hands of the Lord on November 5, 2006.  Born the daughter of Allen Clarence Rankin and Eugenia Patton Rankin in Montgomery, Alabama, on October 29, 1920, Dr. Diaz-Plaja grew up on Cloverdale Road with her four siblings: Allen Clarence Rankin Jr., Eugenia Patton Rankin, Nell Rankin and Stanley Rankin. Dr. Diaz-Plaja graduated from Lanier High School and attended Huntingdon College, supporting her education by giving swimming lessons in the Huntingdon pool.  With sister Nell Rankin, Dr. Diaz-Plaja began her musical studies under Montgomery's Mrs. C. S. Guy and traveled weekly to Birmingham to study voice under Mme. E. J. S. Lorraine.  She acquired her Music Theory training at the Birmingham Conservancy of Music. After auditioning for renowned Dutch voice coach and accompanist Coenraad Bos, sisters Ruth and Nell were invited to New York City to begin a three-year course of study under the tutelage of  Bos. Throughout the summer of 1945, sisters Ruth and Nell continued their vocal studies while singing in area churches and performing duet recitals for Red Cross and Veteran's hospitals. Dr. Diaz-Plaja made her New York concert debut at Town Hall on March 27, 1947, and debuted the same year as a dramatic soprano in the title role of Aida at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. In the years to follow, she sang professionally in Germany, Italy Spain and Holland. Dr. Diaz-Plaja earned her Bachelor of Arts degree from Huntingdon College in 1961. Her long-standing interest in the human voice and voice production led her to pursue a career in Audiology and Speech Pathology.  She earned a Masters degree in Audiology from the University of Alabama in 1963 and a Doctor of Science degree from Johns Hopkins University in 1973. Upon graduation from Johns Hopkins, Dr. Di-az-Plaja practiced as a diagnostician, clinician and consultant in the Baltimore and Harford County, Maryland school systems, where she provided diagnosis, therapy and case management for adults and children with special needs and for those with communicative impairments.  Upon her return to Alabama after retirement, Dr. Diaz-Plaja taught courses in Voice and Diction at Huntingdon College, served as a volunteer and was actively involved in the Laubach Literacy Program.  She was honored by Huntingdon College with the Alumnae Achievement Award in 1979 and, in 1995, was awarded a U.S and Canadian patent for her invention of an Interactive Teaching Apparatus and Method for the Teaching of Graphemes, Grapheme Names, Phonemes and Phonetics.  Dr. Diaz-Plaja was formerly married to Dr. Fernando Diaz-Plaja, of Barcelona Spain, a renowned author and professor of History and Spanish Literature. She is survived by their two daughters, Nell Rankin Markwell (Don) of Montgomery and Aurora Diaz-Plaja Birch (Tom) of Raleigh, NC; and three grand-children: Mrs. Erica Birch Coulter of Tampa, FL, Ms. Jessica Birch and Mr. Drew Birch, both of Coral Springs, FL. A memorial service will be held at the First United Methodist Church at Cloverdale Road in Montgomery, at 2 p.m. on Thursday, November 9th. The family will receive friends one hour prior to the service at the church. In lieu of flowers, please make donations to the Central Alabama Labauch Literacy Council, First Methodist Church, Huntingdon College or the charity of your choice. Leak-Memory Chapel Directing
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Funeral Home: LEAK MEMORY CHAPEL
Publication Date: 11/07/2006