Story by Susan Gallagher
A deep gratitude for life’s blessings, an abiding love of family and for their small town and a commitment to helping others have driven John and Ruth Peirick throughout their lives.
This month they ”retired” from their volunteer role after 14 years’ coordinating 56 American Red Cross blood drives at the New Haven, MO, American Legion Hall. The local Red Cross chapter surprised the pair Dec. 7 with cake at the end of their last blood drive. Multiple family members—including great grandchildren—came to celebrate their service.
Ruth Peirick is the first woman to coordinate the Legion’s program, but John Peirick is no stranger to blood drives. He has been donating blood for 60 years. Even so, their role as coordinators happened by chance.
“The blood drives probably started in New Haven 60 or 70 years ago, and members of the American Legion always hosted them,” Ruth Peirick recalled. “But in 2009 when the long-time coordinator there wanted to hand over the reins after receiving his 20-year certificate from the Red Cross, no member stepped forward,”
For years, the Peiricks had been helping that coordinator set up the hall for drives. The time was right because Ruth had just joined John Peirick in retirement. John Peirick had supervised a fabric coating and dyeing facility for 30 years of the 45 years he worked there, while Ruth had been a beautician for several years and done office work for more than 40 years. She was also a member of the American Legion Auxiliary.
“When we took on the role of coordinators, we knew it was a very worthwhile program and did not want to see it end,” Ruth added.
The Blood Drive Coordinator oversees the coordination, communication, implementation, and evaluation of blood drives, recruiting committee members, setting goals, reserving space and promoting drives. Would they encourage others to volunteer with the American Red Cross?
“Certainly, being involved with the drives has been rewarding because it is critical that we have a strong supply of blood to save lives,” said John Peirick. Every day, blood donors help patients of all ages: accident and burn victims, heart surgery and organ transplant patients, and those battling cancer. In fact, every two seconds, someone in the U.S. needs blood.
Ruth Peirick added that the donors are truly the heroes. “They are passing on this blood as a gift to their fellow citizens to save lives. One unit of blood saves three lives. How wonderful is that? We coordinators, technicians and volunteers are fortunate to be a part of this.”
In fact, Ruth Peirick felt so strongly about the importance of donors that she supplemented snacks provided by the Red Cross with assorted homemade cookies. She inspired other Red Cross volunteers who also baked cookies and other treats. “The donors were very grateful and always thanked us for the home-baked sweets,” she recalled.
Coordinating the drives also gave the pair an opportunity to continue to connect with a community they treasure—New Haven is where they both were born and grew up.
“I knew most of the donors,” Ruth Peirick added. “It was nice to be able to talk to old friends and find out about their families. We also had donors come from nearby towns. In fact, one man was driving through town on his way home to Wildwood, MO. He saw the sign ‘Blood Drive Here Today,’ so he stopped and donated. How caring is that?”
The Peiricks roots run deep in the region. “Five of our family members have been or are educators,” said Ruth Peirick. “Three are employed in the New Haven school district. Two family members (one retired and one still employed) work in the Washington school district.”
Their son Douglas and his wife Lori live in New Haven and Matthew and his wife Christy live in nearby Washington, MO. Also living in New Haven are two grandsons, two great granddaughters and a great grandson.
Over the years, Ruth Peirick has volunteered in the local schools, chaired fund drives at her church and raised money for the American Legion Auxiliary, which advocates for veterans, active military and their families and supports the initiatives and programs of The American Legion.
The pair said they have enjoyed every bit of the time spent volunteering and working with many wonderful people. “Without the other volunteers, none of these events could have been successful,” Ruth Peirick said. She plans to continue to volunteer at the New Haven Senior Center and to help with funeral lunches at her church. The Peiricks will also go to the gym and see their many friends.
“But mainly, we will continue to enjoy the beautiful family the Lord has blessed us with,” they said.