She made friends wherever she went and loved having a good conversation over wine and cheese. Ivy traveled the world with her friends where she found herself writing stories in Mykonos, sleeping in tents in Kenya, yachting in Antiqua, shopping in Bangkok and Prague, sightseeing in London and walking on the beaches of Aitutaki.

Her best-known book, Night of the Twisters, was made into a movie.

Ivy was a member of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators, Utah Children's Literature Association, Friends of the Salt Lake County Library System and the Willa Cather Memorial Foundation. She received the Outstanding Alumni Award, Hastings College Mountain Plains Library Association Literary Contribution Award for body of work Nebraska Golden Sower Award Sequoyah Children's Book Award Iowa Children's Choice Award and nomination for the prestigious Texas Bluebonnet Award. During her career she made frequent school visits and spoke at writers' workshops around the country. Ivy's writing career included fifteen young adult novels and many awards. When Allan died in a mountain climbing accident, Ivy was inspired to write even more. In the midst of her busy life, Ivy began writing full-time in 1974, contributing short stories and articles to children's magazines. Together they spent many years having adventures while raising three children: camping and boating at Flaming Gorge, skiing, swimming, and building a dream house. Ivy taught English at Skyline High School from 1962-65, and creative writing from 1970-72. They had two children and were later divorced. She met Edgar Heylmun in Casper and they were married in 1955 and moved to Salt Lake City. Ivy graduated with a Bachelor's degree in English from Hastings College in 1953 and followed a family heritage of a long line of teachers by taking a job as a high school English teacher in Casper, Wyoming.

She considered herself lucky to have grown up in a quiet prairie town where at a young age she began writing the action-packed stories that ran nonstop in her head. St George - Author Ivy Ruckman was born in Hastings, Nebraska, the daughter of Joy Uberto and Lena Osgood Myers.

Night of the Twisters by Ivy Ruckman