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Date of these obituaries: 06-20-2002
Ruby Lee Wyatt, 87, 'Queen of Falmouth'
Ruby Lee Wyatt, dubbed "Queen of Falmouth" by those who knew her, was a tiny burst of energy, her daughters say.
Aside from running the Wyatt's Super Valu store in Falmouth since 1945, Mrs. Wyatt, who barely stood 5 feet tall, actively wrote poetry, performed in church plays and sang whenever anyone would listen, they said.
"Mother was 87 going on 26, " said her youngest daughter, Dixie Owen of Falmouth.
"She was extremely outgoing and very much of an entertainer, " she said.
Mrs. Wyatt, who spent her en tire life in Falmouth, died Tuesday at her home after a year-long bat tle with ovarian cancer.
"She was known from one end of Kentucky to another, " said an other daughter, Pat Simmons of Alexandria.
Mrs. Wyatt earned fame when she helped save the Super Valustore when the Licking River flooded Falmouth in 1997. The gro cery was heavily damaged by floodwaters, but Mrs. Wyatt didn't bat an eye, Simmons said.
"It had been a beautiful store, and it was nothing but a scummy mess, " she said. "We were ready to give up, but not mother."
Eight weeks later, the store was as good as new and open for business, she said.
The next year, Mrs. Wyatt was awarded the Small Business Administration Award for Disaster Recovery in Washington, D.C.
Mrs. Wyatt was a member of Falmouth Christian Church and Falmouth Baptist Church. She was active in the Sunday school at Falmouth Baptist, and sang in the church choir.
She was a past president of the PTA at Falmouth High School, president of the Falmouth Women's Club and was named the 1997 National Woman's Grocer of the Year.
Her husband, Earl "Abe" Wy att, died in 1985.
Other survivors include a brother, John Browning of Falmouth; a sister, Gladys Liebermann of Fort Wright; three grandsons and two great-grandchildren.
Services will be at 11 a.m. Fri day at Woodhead Funeral Home, Falmouth. Visitation will be from 5 to 8 p.m. today at the funeral home.
Burial will be in Riverside Cemetery, Falmouth.
Dorothy Ashcraft, 73, of Hebron, died Wednesday at Woodspoint Nursing Home, Florence.
Arrangements are pending at Stith Funeral Home, Florence.
Cletus Gerding, 71, of Petersburg, died Wednesday at his home. He was a retired HVAC technician with Arronco Heating and Air Conditioning and was a member of Immaculate Heart of Mary Church, Burlington.
Survivors include his wife, Frances Perkins Gerding; sons, Tom Gerding of Covington and Tim Gerding of Erlanger; daughters, Peggy Gerding of Independence and Pamela Gerding of Erlanger; stepsons, Douglas Ernstes and Michael Ernstes, both of Petersburg, and Mark Ernstes of Lexington; sisters, Casilda Dornacher and Anne Ruberg, both of Cincinnati, Dolores Macke, Imelda Ernstes and Celeste Gerding, all of Cincinnati, and Eunice Wenning of Cleveland; and nine grandchildren.
Mass of Christian burial will be at 10 a.m. Saturday at Immaculate Heart of Mary Church. Visitation will be from 5 to 8 p.m. Friday at Linnemann Funeral Home, Burlington. Burial will be in St. Mary Cemetery, Fort Mitchell. Memorials are suggested to Immaculate Heart of Mary Building Fund, 5876 Veterans Way, Burlington, Ky. 41005.
Charlie Ray Gibson, 65, of Owenton, died Tuesday at his home. He was a farmer, commercial fisherman and a member of Mount Zion Baptist Church.
Survivors include his wife, Jerri Stivers Gibson; sons, Jeff Gibson of Owenton and Jay Gibson of Worthville; a daughter, Raejean Brandt of Fayetteville, Ga.; a brother, Buddy Gibson of Owenton; sisters, Florence Ogden and Mavis Jones, both of Owenton; and seven grandchildren.
Services will be at 11 a.m. Friday at McDonald Funeral Home, Seminary Street, Owenton. Visitation will be from 4 to 9 p.m. Thursday at the funeral home. Burial will be in Squiresville Cemetery. Memorials are suggested to Mount Zion Baptist Church, 5320 Sherman Mount Zion Road, Dry Ridge, Ky. 41035.
Paula J. Hicks, 43, of Warsaw, died Tuesday at her home. She was a former employee of Ameristop in Warsaw.
Survivors include a son, James Hearn of Verona; a daughter, Sonya Ingram of Warsaw; her father, Roy Hicks of Warsaw; sisters, Pamela Riley of Glencoe and Belinda Beach of Vevay, Ind.; brothers, Roy E. Hicks of Covington and Larry Bowling of Tucson, Ariz.; and three grandchildren.
Services will be at 1 p.m. Friday at Carlton-Lowder Funeral Home, Warsaw. Visitation will be from 5 to 9 p.m. today at the funeral home.
Melvi "Rocky" Jenkins, 69, of Falmouth, died today at his home.
Arrangements are pending at Peoples Funeral Home, Falmouth.
Barbara Ann Ludwig, 66, of Dayton, died at 6:30 a.m. Tuesday at St. Elizabeth Hospice Unit, Covington. She was a homemaker. Her husband, Gerald E. Ludwig Sr., died in 2000.
Survivors include a daughter, Robin Acree of Fort Thomas; a son, Gary Ludwig of Dayton; and three grandchildren.
Services will be at 2 p.m. Sunday at St. Paul Episcopal Church, Newport. Visitation will begin there at 1 p.m. Sunday. Memorials are suggested to Heritage Academy, 7216 U.S. 42, Florence, Ky. 41042. Muehlenkamp-Erschell Funeral Home, Fort Thomas, is handling arrangements.
Elizabeth J. May, 90, of Mays Lick, died at 1:20 a.m. Wednesday at Fleming County Hospital, Flemingsburg. She was a member of Mays Lick Christian Church and the Ohio Valley Garden Club.
Survivors include her husband, James E. May; and a daughter, Wanda Earls of Washington.
Graveside services will be at 11 a.m. Friday at Mays Lick Cemetery. Memorials are suggested to Mays Lick Christian Church, 5083 Main St., Mays Lick, Ky. 41055, or the charity of the donor's choice. Palmer Funeral Home, Mays Lick, is handling arrangements.
Lois Kenney Ritchie, 88, of Bourbon County, died Tuesday at Harrison Memorial Hospital, Cynthiana. She was a retired Ruddles Mills School lunch room manager. Sons, Don Ross Ritchie and Larry R. Ritchie, both preceded her in death.
Survivors include her husband, Ora M. "Bill" Ritchie; a brother, Harold Ray Kenney of Illinois; four grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren.
Services will be at 1 p.m. Friday at Ware Funeral Home, Cynthiana. Visitation will be from 5 to 8 p.m. Thursday at the funeral home. Burial will be in Battle Grove Cemetery, Cynthiana.
Evelyn L. Schoo, 90, of Latonia, died at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday at St. Elizabeth Medical Center North, Covington.
She was a homemaker and a volunteer with Holy Cross Elementary School and Holy Cross High School and a former Cincinnati Bell employee. She was a member of Holy Cross Church, Latonia. Her husband, John Michael Schoo, died in 1976.
Survivors include daughters, Mary Jo Grone and Deanna Armstrong, both of Erlanger; a brother, Harold Schreck of Edgewood; five grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren.
Mass of Christian burial will be at 10:30 a.m. Saturday at Holy Cross Church, Latonia. Visitation will be from 9 to 10 a.m. Saturday at Connley Brothers Funeral Home, Latonia. Burial will be in Mother of God Cem etery, Fort Wright. Memorials are suggested to Holy Cross Church, 3612 Church St., Latonia, Ky. 41015, or St. Elizabeth Hospice Unit, 401 E. 20th St., Covington, Ky. 41014.
Rosie Turner, 92, of Corinth, died at 8:44 p.m. Wednesday at University of Kentucky Medical Center, Lexington.
Arrangements are pending at Rogers Funeral Home, Corinth.
Charles William Wallace, 53, of Covington, died Sunday in Covington. He was a construction worker and an Army veteran. Sons, Charles William Wallace and Albert Ray Wallace, and a daughter, Angela Carol May, all preceded him in death.
Survivors include daughters, Linda Yvonne Fredericks of Garland, Texas, and Charlie Ann Wallace of Carrollton; sisters, Norma May of Wauseon, Ohio, and Martha Rabourn of Turners Station; brothers, Richard Wallace of Campbellsburg and Albert Wallace Jr. of Carrollton; and two grandchildren.
Services were this morning at IOOF Cemetery, Carrollton. Tandy-Eckler-Riley Funeral Home, Carrollton, handled arrangements.
Thelma Marie Wesselman, 86, of Newport, died Tuesday at St. Luke Hospital East, Fort Thomas. She was a homemaker and a member of Central Presbyterian Church, Petersburg, Ill., and the Republican Club. Her husband, Albert Wesselman, died in 1957.
Survivors include a daughter, Alberta Poland of Walton; sons, Carl Wesselman of Taylor Mill, George Wesselman of Glendale, Calif., and James Wesselman of Trenton, Mich.; six grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.
Services will be at 7 p.m. Friday at Stith Funeral Home, Florence. Visitation will begin there at 5 p.m. Friday. Burial will be at 1:30 p.m. Sunday at Ashland, Ill., Cemetery.
