Celebrating a Mother and a Teacher: Ruthe Cochran
by William (Bill) McIntyre

Historically, West Volusia has been blessed with some quite extraordinary citizens who have made this community the wonderful place it is today. Though, the real source of this success has been the strong and mostly unsung heroes we call extraordinary ordinary people. And, no surprise, many of them have been women. So, there is no better time to celebrate one of these women than for Mother’s Day and Teacher Appreciation Week! 

A large number of people in DeLand over the age of 40 who can read or can swim can thank one of their beloved teachers, Mrs. Ruthe Cochran. She was the first Kindergarten teacher in West Volusia and taught in the same classroom at George Marks Elementary School for 29 years. She was admired and respected by her students and their parents for her excellence in teaching and for her loving and caring ways. She not only taught them to read and write, she, and an instructor, took all her students to her home to teach them to swim. She took 60 children to Disney each year when many of them would have never had that opportunity. 

Ruthe did not come to these accomplishments easily. She was born in Donora, Pa. in 1923. When she was six, her father died of pneumonia leaving her mother, Helen Ferguson Ammon to raise six children ages 2 to 12. A week after Helen became a widow, the financial Crash of 1929 hit hard. She was advised to send the kids to orphanages, but she steadfastly refused. She took in ironing, baked, and even rented floor space in their 2-bedroom home to those who had no place to go. Even with a large family to feed, there was always at least one hungry guest at the table. Ruthe started college but left after a semester in 1943 when she married her true love, Jack Shambach. He became Sgt. Shambach and went off to defend our country in WWII. Ruthe was pregnant when he left, and they had great plans for their little girl. In November of 1944, she got word that Jack was MIA. She had their daughter, Gretchen, in January and finally received word in July that he had been killed in a mission over Italy. He had been buried in a farmer’s field. Ruthe was determined to push on and raise her daughter. She entered the University of Pittsburgh and held a job. Helen helped her raise Gretchen. The Pittsburgh Press highlighted her story of determination in a full-page article on September 23, 1945. In

1952, Helen, Ruthe and Gretchen moved to DeLand where they had a relative living nearby. They bought a large house at 518 N. Florida Ave, reportedly for $8,000. They briefly operated a café on Indiana Ave, and they took in Stetson College students as boarders. Their house was always full and the table open to everyone. Ruthe finished her degree at Stetson where she worked at the “Hat Rack” café. After graduating, she began teaching. She had remarried to Jim Cochran and had a son, Mark. She also supplemented her income by managing the ticket sales for the Stover Theater and by reporting Deland news for the Daytona News-Journal. She was active at First Presbyterian Church, and took students on trips to ski, camp and to tour the U.K. Ruthe lived in that house for the last 56 years of her life. The home was recently and beautifully renovated by her grandson, Jeff Moyer, and his wife Marlene. Six generations of the family have lived in and enjoyed this historic home for 72 years. Former student boarders, much older now, still stop by from time to time and are amazed that the same family lives there. 

Ruthe passed her strength, determination, and loving ways to her future generations. Gretchen married Ron Moyer, became a Stetson graduate and she also was a teacher at George Marks for many years. They had three children, which includes, not surprisingly, some very accomplished women. Dagny Moyer Robertson works with her husband, Tommy, in their financial advising practice and has two sons, Issac, who lives and works in Ft. Lauderdale, and Jake, who serves in the Army Special Forces. He and his wife Carly have a daughter, Hazel. Dagny is a generous contributor to DeLand civic and cultural organizations including chairing the Art Museum Board and is a founder of DeLand Pride. Erin Moyer Johnston is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor. She is married to Mark Johnston, a DeLand business owner and member of a pioneer family in Volusia. Their son, Benjamin, is graduating from Deland High in 2024. Erin has been a courageous cancer survivor who has brought much visibility and support for the causes of seeking cures and supporting those with the disease. Jeff Moyer is a Licensed Social Worker, who with his wife Marlene, restored the old family home. He has four children from his first marriage, Alexandra of Daytona Beach, who is the mother of Winnie, Gabriela who lives and works in Philadelphia, Jeffrey who is a marketing executive in New York City, and George who lives and works in DeLand. Winnie, 6, and Hazel, 5, are the 6th generation in this family that came to DeLand 72 years ago, and it is already apparent that they will also be making their mark in the world! 

Helen “Nanny” Ammon died in DeLand at 81 in 1977. Ruthe Ammon Shambach Cochran, 87, died in the family home on September 30, 2010. It is often said that a teacher’s mark on other lives never ends until the last person influenced by the last person influenced by her students is gone. That is so true for Ruthe and her students and especially for her family. Happy Mother’s Day, Ruthe! 

SOURCES for West Volusia Historical Society Post: The Pittsburgh Press, Sept. 23, 1945, June 25, 1946, editions; The West Volusia Beacon, Sept. 2, 2010; Family Oral Interview, 2024. Photos courtesy of family.

Ruthe Cochran in retirement years

Cabbage Bluff - 1800s

Ruthe & Jack Shambach - 1943

Helen, Gretchen & Ruthe Cochran - 1950

Gretchen & Ruthe - 2005