Ruth Carhart Putnam, 86; The Voice Of `Elsie The Cow'

VISALIA, Calif. - Services are pending for singer and voice actress Ruth Carhart Putnam, 86, of Visalia, who died of heart failure Saturday.

She was the voice of Borden's "Elsie the Cow" and was a radio performer for many years before World War II. She married actor/announcer George Arthur Putnam in Virginia in 1940.

She was born and grew up in Ellsworth, Kan. She was a graduate of Stephens College, Mo., the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music, the Curtis Institute, Pa.; and the Juilliard School of Music, N.Y. She also studied extensively with Madame Ernestine Von Schumann-Heink. She was a concert and recording artist and sang in eight languages for a number of top conductors, including Leopold Stokowski.

Surviving are two sons, Christopher "Kit" Putnam of Visalia and Jeffrey L. Putnam of Richardson, Texas; two sisters, Dorothy Patterson of Missouri and Arlene Ulrickson of Sacramento; and six

grandchildren.