Chief Warrant Officer William R. Ruth of Mount Airy, Md., was assigned to the Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Personnel. He served in the Army and the Maryland National Guard for more then 30 years.

Born in Knoxville, Tenn., he was a graduate of Bowling Green University in Bowling Green, Ohio.

Ruth taught social studies for nearly 30 years in the Montgomery County school system. He last taught at John T. Baker Middle School in Damascus. In 1997, he began working at the Pentagon.

He is survived by a son, his mother, his brother, and a sister.