Obituary of Ruth Hulliger

Ruth Glatthard Hulliger, 85, of Lexington passed away peacefully in her sleep, early morning on October 27, 2023. As the mother of Stefan and grandmother of Michael and Allyson, she was the bedrock of our family. She was born and raised as one of 5 girls in a small mountain village in Switzerland where she went thru school. After High School, Ruth spent a year as an au-pair in the French part of Switzerland, and later made a four year apprenticeship as an accountant. Ruth met her future husband at a Summer Night dance in Brienz, just before he moved to Zuerich for graduate school. Eventually she followed him to Zuerich where they got married in the spring of 1965. In 1967, their only child Stefan was born. In 1968, they made their voyage on the SS United States from Switzerland to New York on a transfer to Jackson, TN, due to Kurt’s career with a multi-national Aluminum and Chemical company based in Zuerich. Traveling back and forth between Switzerland and the States was to become common place. Returning to Switzerland from Jackson, TN after 2 years, they fell in love with cross-country skiing, where her husband participated in several ski marathon races. Two and a half years later, they moved back to Jackson, TN and lived there for 7 years before being transferred to St. Louis, Mo. in 1980. With all of the back and forth business trips, they were finally gifted 2 First Class tickets for an Around the World trip reaching Switzerland, France, Italy, India, Singapore, Sydney, and Tahiti over a course of 5 weeks. The next and last relocation for business was to Shelbyville, KY, in 1986, where Kurt was responsible for the construction of a modern manufacturing plant, that he then lead as Operations Manager for 3 years before he retired in 1990 after 25 years with the company. The Hulligers finally settled in Lexington, KY in 1990, uniting with their son Stefan, who was attending the University of Kentucky, and they started a printing business (Adcolor Inc) together with a partner couple, with Ruth being the accountant for the first 13 years until she retired in 2003 to dedicate herself to oil painting and spoiling the grandkids Michael, born in 1989 and Allyson, born in 1996. Ruth always stayed in touch with her sisters and visited them many times in Switzerland until her last trip in 2021 with her husband.

Her health started to deteriorate after an exercise accident in 2021, and after a valiant fight with several hospital stays during the course of this year, she peacefully passed away at her home in Lexington.

In Ruth’s memory, in lieu of sending flowers, we suggest that you make a contribution to the Salvation Army, 736 W. Main Street, Lexington, 40508

Ruth’s Celebration of Life will be held in her honor on Friday, November 3, 2023 from 5 to 9 pm at Clark Legacy Center in Brannon Crossing.

She is survived by:

Kurt Hulliger, husband , Stefan Hulliger, son (Lori Adkins), Michael Hulliger, grandson (Alyssa Phillips) and Allyson Hulliger, granddaughter (Chris Gray)

Margrit Glatthard, sister (Switzerland), Rosmarie Marbot, sister (Switzerland), along with many Friends and Family.