Ruth Chinitz Uris, a Presidential Councillor and longtime benefactor of Cornell, died March 19 at her home in New York City.

Through her husband, the late philanthropist and builder Harold D. Uris (Cornell Class of 1925), Ruth Uris became an active and generous supporter of Cornell and its Medical College.

The couple was honored in 1982 as "foremost benefactors of the University" for their many contributions, including gifts to renovate the undergraduate library and social sciences building, both of which were named for the Uris family. They also provided two sculptures by the artist Jacques Lipchitz for the library grounds. Mrs. Uris established a book endowment in memory of her husband at the dedication of Uris Library in 1982.

The garden on the south slope of the A.D. White House, home of Cornell's first president, was named the Ruth Uris Flower Garden in her honor in 1980.

"Ruth Uris was a remarkable woman whose breadth of interests and largeness of heart touched all who knew her," President Emeritus Frank H.T. Rhodes said. "She had a longstanding interest in Cornell, first through her husband, Harold Uris, and after his death in her own right. As Presidential Councillor, life member of the Medical College Board of Overseers and as a generous benefactor, she left an indelible impact on Cornell.

"The garden dedicated to her is a tribute that resembles her life in bringing gladness and joy to many," Rhodes added. "She was a treasured friend; as we mourn her loss, we celebrate her life."

In addition to her service on the Board of Overseers for the Medical College and Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Mrs. Uris also served on the college's Advisory Council and in 1982 on a committee to raise funds for the renovation of the pediatric inpatient unit. She was named a Presidential Councillor in 1982.

She was a founding member in 1972 of Cornell's Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art Council and also was involved in New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art, Lincoln Center, the Whitney Museum of American Art and the Federation of the Handicapped.

A 1931 graduate of Smith College, Ruth Uris is survived by four daughters and eight grandchildren.

Funeral services were held March 21 at Temple Emanu-el, Fifth Avenue and 65th St., in New York City.