Ruth Broussard Broussard was born in Kaplan, Louisiana on February 17, 1918. After receiving a BA degree from LSU, she taught elementary education in Lake Charles, then returned to her hometown of Kaplan to teach. While in Kaplan, she organized the first Girl Scout Troop.

In 1941, she married Justin John Broussard of Abbeville, La. Soon after, World War II began and he volunteered for the U. S. Coast Guard. After his basic training, Justin was stationed in Galveston, Texas and she gave up teaching to join him. When the war was over, they happily moved back to Acadiana and settled in Abbeville. She joined La Clique D' Etud which was a civic and social woman's club. She was very active in organizing many drives to raise money for cancer research.

Ruth and Justin had three children: Justin "Jay", Rebecca and Eric. With one of her children in college and the other two in school, Ruth returned to teaching. She taught at Eaton Park Elementary for eighteen years. She enjoys reuniting as often as possible with her former students.

Ruth was one of the original members of The Abbeville Tour Guides, a group founded to encourage tourism in Abbeville. Starting with only a small group of volunteers, she explained the history of all of downtown Abbeville. Once the group was large enough, the tour group was divided and she mainly focused on the historic St. Mary Magdalen Church, which is listed on the National Registry of Historic Buildings.

Ruth has always been interested in history and proud to be an Acadian. After years of planning, she was thrilled to be able to travel to Nova Scotia to retrace her Broussard genealogical roots. She has an extensive collection of photos and articles on Acadian history. She is always willing to share her wealth of information and has donated materials to other archivists and historical collections such as the Acadian Museum of Erath and UL in Lafayette, Louisiana.

Ruth belongs to The Abbeville Arts Council, The Vermilion Historical Society and The St. Anne Altar Society of St. Mary Magdalen Catholic Church. Ruth loves art and gardening.

Recently, she enrolled in continuing education classes at ULL. She taught herself how to use the computer and now she uses it to search for more information on her history. Ruth now spends most of her time in her flower garden and meeting with family and friends. Her yard is full of flowers, many planted from seeds. She dearly loves Vermilion Parish.