Ruth Alberta Krug (Bert) Batic

Ruth Alberta Krug (Bert) Batic, 93, of Brownsburg, passed away Saturday, May 28,2016. While Bert enjoyed multiplefulfilling jobs in her life, including stay-at-home-mom, she was extremelyproud of her work as a Program Directorfor the American Red Cross, serving to support WW2 troops in Europe immediatelyafter V-E Day from 1945-1947. She was anoriginal member of St. Michael theArchangel Catholic Church and recently a member of St. Malachy Catholic Church, Brownsburg.

Bert graduated from LadywoodAcademy, Indianapolis in June 1941 and immediately started working for the EliLilly Company.

She had a passion for serving andsupporting others and a co-worker got her involved with the USO where shereceived awards for volunteer service hours supporting American military troopsas they went through Union Station for training assignments and deployment.

She was looking to do more, so onJune 4, 1945 (her 23rd birthday and the minimum age for American Red Crossduty) she took leave from Lilly and joined the ARC. She was sent to Washington D.C. for trainingand danced on the lawn of the White House on V-E Day.

When training was complete shewas deployed to Marseilles, France where she was assigned to a Club MobileUnit. Books have been written about theClub Mobile women who drove 2 1/2 ton military like trucks throughout thecountryside to serve coffee and donuts and provide personal supplies to troopsstill stationed in France. She even traded extra supplies to a paratrooper forhis silk parachute that she kept and had it made into her wedding dress.

She was reassigned to Heschwege, Germanyand she served at as a Program Director at the local Red Cross Center, receivinga number of commendation letters from her managers.

In 1947 she returned statesideand went back to work at Eli Lilly where she met her future husband, Ike.

Still wanting to help and serve,and make more money ($2400 per year), she interviewed for a Patrolman positionwith the Indianapolis Police Department. She was sworn in on December 16, 1947 in one of the first recruitingclasses after the war. Her class included six other women.

Women who served with theIndianapolis Police Department prior to Bert’s involvement wereappointees. Bert's class of 1947 was thefirst one to graduate from training as Patrolmen. While on the IPD she servedin the detective division of Juvenile Aid and was the only female investigatorfor the Juvenile Courts.

She married Ike on June 26, 1948at Our Lady of Lourdes, Indianapolis and remained with the IPD until becomingpregnant in 1954 with their first son, Michael. She took a leave of absence but at the end of her leave she decided toresign, to stay home and raise their family. Their second son, Mark, was bornin 1958.

When Bert was 52 she rejoined thework force as a machine operator at Allison Transmissions. Ten years later she joined Allison'sCorporate Challenge team. Over the nextfew years she won seven medals for 1st or 2nd place in her age division in 3kand 5k races. Not being one just towalk, she actively trained daily in the neighborhood, many times before goinginto work. She related to her co-workers and teammates that Ike drove the carnext to her and drank coffee while she ran.

Retiring at the age of 63 shebecame a water aerobics instructor for Indy Parks at the Krannert FamilyCenter. This was amazing as she developed a fear of water when, as a gradeschool student, she watched a classmate and a nun drown in a swollen creekwhile on a picnic outing.

Still not finished, in the early2000's she began volunteering at the Cathedral Soup Kitchen in downtownIndianapolis where she continued to meet and make new friends while helpingpeople in need.

Bert's motto or personal missionstatement was,

“You give little when you give yourpossessions, but when you give of yourself is when it has meaning"

Bert lived this mission until May28, 2016 when God called her to rejoin Ike and celebrate her eternal reward.

Bert was preceded in death by herparents Albert Krug and Marie Plummer and her three siblings, Marian, Louiseand Jerome.

On May 27, 2009 her best friend,forever sweetheart and husband of nearly 61 years, Ike Batic, also preceded herin death.

She is survived by two sons,Michael and Mark (Rebecca); five grandchildren, Carrie, Sarah (Ryan)DeBenedittis, Erin (Scott) Yanney, Zach (Abby) and Scott; one great-grandchild,Cameron Jean Yanney and daughter-in-law, Marjorie Batic.

The family would like to thankthe staff at Brook Knoll VillageRehabilitation Center for the kind and tender care they displayed, especiallyin Bert's final weeks.

Visitation will be held Thursday,June 2, 2016 from 9:00 a.m. -10:30 a.m. at St. Michael The Archangel CatholicChurch 3354 West 30^th Street Indianapolis, IN 46222. A Mass of Christian Burial will follow at10:30 a.m. Entombment will be inWashington Park North Cemetery.

Bert asks that in lieu offlowers, donations be made to the donor's favorite charity or organization.