Ruth Emily Starbuck Stuckey

Stuckey—Ruth Emily Starbuck Stuckey, 95, on June 11, 2022, at Ohio Living Cape May retirement community in Wilmington, Ohio. She was born on March 2, 1927, to Jesse R. and Clara Bedell Starbuck, the second of four daughters, in Salem, Ohio. Her family was part of a tightly knit Quaker community.

Ruth graduated from Olney Friends School in Barnesville, Ohio, in 1945. At Olney, she was an avid hiker and loved playing field hockey. She enrolled at Wilmington College, where she met fellow student Roy Joe Stuckey. They married in 1948 and set up housekeeping at the College Farm. Ruth graduated in 1952, becoming the first college graduate in her family.

Ruth was a lifelong member of the Religious Society of Friends and their communities in Salem, Barnesville, and Wilmington. She was a founding member of Campus Meeting in Wilmington.

Ruth and her husband developed deep roots in the Monteverde Friends community in Costa Rica. They organized more than 30 Costa Rica study tours, highlighting the Monteverde Friends community and their own lifelong values and interest in farming.

Ruth’s unwavering belief in that of God in every person instructed her children and inspired all who knew her. She greeted everyone with love, consideration, and a kind word. She had the gift of hospitality, which led her to organize and host many dinners and events for family and friends. While at Cape May, she liked to recognize other residents’ birthdays with a gift. Her smile could light up a room and bring joy to every heart.

Ruth was preceded in death by her husband, Roy Joe Stuckey, in 2014; and two siblings, Anna Mae Moffitt and Elizabeth Osborn. She is survived by four children, Mary Elizabeth Newswanger (Elias), Rebecca Ruth Howarth, Joseph David Stuckey (Jean Ann), and John Llewellyn Stuckey (Anne); ten grandchildren; ten great-grandchildren; and a sister, Dorothy Smith.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Maximum of 400 words or 2000 characters.

Comments on Friendsjournal.org may be used in the Forum of the print magazine and may be edited for length and clarity.