Ruth Siems, a home economist who helped create Stove Top stuffing, a Thanksgiving favorite that will be on dinner tables across the country today, has died at 74.
Siems, who worked for General Foods for more than 30 years, died Nov. 13 in Newburgh, Ind., after suffering a heart attack in her home.
Siems helped develop Stove Top in 1971 while working at General Foods’ technical center in White Plains, N.Y. She was listed first among four inventors when the patent was awarded in 1975 for the quick and easy way of making stuffing without actually stuffing a turkey.
Kraft Foods, which now owns the Stove Top brand, sells about 60 million boxes each year around Thanksgiving. The five-minute stuffing comes in several flavors, including turkey, chicken and beef.
As a member of the research and development staff for General Foods, Siems helped find the ideal bread crumb size for making instant stuffing with the same texture as the real thing, said her brother, David Siems.
She retired in 1985 and settled in a historic house in Newburgh, near Evansville, where she grew up.
Singer Chris Whitley known for his range
Chris Whitley, a chameleon singer-songwriter who oscillated between roots rock ‘n’ roll, blues and alt-rock, has died. He was 45.
Whitley passed away Sunday evening, according to a message posted on his Web site by his daughter, Trixie Whitley. No other details were available.
The Texas-based singer was surrounded by his family and girlfriend before passing away, according to his Web site.
Whitley recorded eleven albums since his 1991 debut, “Living With the Law,” including this year’s “Soft Dangerous Shores.”
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