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Submitted: 10/21/23 • Approved: 10/21/23 • Last Updated: 10/24/23 • R833001-G0-S3
Jun 10, 1942
Feb 18, 2023
Ruth Anne Booth was born on June 10, 1942. But that is only the beginning of her story, and a novel of stories there is to be told.
Anne loved telling stories about her brothers, Dan, D'Boy, and Paul, almost as much as she loved them. She'd brag of the days when they would jump off the bridge into the river, all to entertain the tourists and passerby's. That was until their mother saw it in the local newspaper. When they were bored, which was any time they weren't in trouble, they'd sit under the fence row and take turns shooting the rotting pears they'd carefully perched above their heads. The Booth kids would spend afternoons creating their own circus, riding piggy-back on bicycles, and swinging from the car door – sometimes while it was moving. It's no surprise they all had broken bones and stitches before they had their first date. Being the only girl of four was so much of what made Anne who she was. No one had to wonder why she was more of a Tomboy than a little girl, and no one had to wonder where she learned to whistle, play ball, dig in the dirt, and fight like a boy. But anyone who listened as she told these stories could hear the pride, the envy, and the love in her voice.
While Anne bragged about her three children, Rusty, Lisa, and Mindy, they equally bragged and told stories about her. Their mother loved the outdoors, so much in fact, she would use any reason to be outdoors, and if there wasn't one, much to her kids' dismay, she'd create one. Anne would spend hours and days planning, plotting, and killing bamboo. As an 80-year-old grandma, she knew no limitations. She'd beat at the bamboo with her weed whacker, and if that wasn't enough, she'd power up the handsaw. If the handsaw didn't work, she'd get a can of gasoline, some matches, and, if her kids were lucky, a garden hose. On the days when the bamboo was winning, she'd take a break and build a brick path. Then she would take the brick path up and put it back down. One thing Anne was not good at was giving up. It took her many years, but Anne eventually won the war with the bamboo and even ended up with an almost perfectly sculpted brick path.
Of everything Anne was good at, she was best at being a grandmother. A grandmother of six, Taylor, Deston, Xander, Ryker, Riley, Reid, and even a great-grandmother, Harper Lea. Anne would say, matter-of-fact, they were her biggest blessing, and she always made sure they knew "just how much she loved them." Anne's house was a pallet, truly colored by memories of her grandkids. When you walked from room to room, you would see her pride in the drawings on the wall (never to be covered by paint), the handmade gifts that only she wouldn't throw away, the leftover yarn still tied around the doorknobs from rainy day forts. And when the house was full of memories, they trickled out the door, down the brick path, and onto the shed in the backyard. The shed would have been torn down a generation ago if not for the years of grandchildren's handprints and stick-figure artwork adorning all four sides. When her children suggested the shed get a fresh coat of paint, in her typical Anne wisdom and her grandmother like grin she sweetly said…. no.
Anne will be remembered by countless as an English and Art teacher who was way cooler than their mom.
She will be remembered as a friend who not only listened but understood.
She will be remembered as a sister who could hold her own and yet still be a girl.
She will be remembered as a mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother who loved without boundaries,
Most importantly, she will be remembered as one who knew God and certainly left His world a better place.
Anne knew life was a gift. Her family, her friends were what made that gift special. Looking around, you will see only a fraction of the lives she touched. And while Anne has gone Home, she left knowing one day she will see us again. She will be there to love us, to listen to us, and to laugh with us. But, until then, we "mere mortals" will be here – anxiously waiting.
Anne will be missed by many and to list them all is impossible. Her memory and stories will continue to be shared by her brothers Paul, D'Boy, Dan and Cindy Booth along with her children Rusty and Vicki Lindsay, Lisa and Scott Zimmerman and Mindy and Rory Krueger. Her grandchildren include Nick and Taylor Gimlin, Deston, Xander, Ryker, Riley and Reid and by her great granddaughter, Harper.
We love you mom-
A celebration of Ruth's life will be at 1:00 pm, Friday, March 3, 2023, at Sunshine Church of Christ. Inurnment will be at 10:00 am, Saturday, March 4, 2023, at Willow Springs City Cemetery. [greenlawnfuneralhome.com]
Contributed on 10/21/23 by mjrwag
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Record #: 833001