predecessor successor death_date birth_place death_place office birth_date term_start spouse article_title term_end
jeffrey miller jim torrey august 26 , 2010 ames , iowa springfield , oregon mayor of eugene , oregon february 4 , 1926 1993 john bascom ruth bascom
 1996
ruth bascom

ruth bascom -lrb- february 4 , 1926 -- august 26 , 2010 -rrb- was an american politician who served as the first female mayor of eugene , oregon from 1993 until 1996 .
she met her future husband , john u. bascom , when the two were sixth-graders together in manhattan , kansas .
the couple moved to eugene in 1960 , and all six of their children went to south eugene high school .
as mayor , bascom worked to revitalize downtown eugene , getting rid of a fountain that blocked traffic on broadway and willamette streets and creating bicycle and pedestrian paths .
the riverbank trail system , which extends for twelve miles through the city along the willamette river , is named for her .
on august 15 , 2010 , bascom was the passenger of a car driven by her husband , john bascom .
bascom reportedly fell asleep at the wheel and struck several trees and large boulders on u.s. route 395 near burns , oregon .
ruth bascom suffered major injuries in the accident and was hospitalized .
ruth bascom died from a stroke and injuries sustained in the accident on august 26 , 2010 , at the age of 84 .
she was survived by her husband and six children .
