Ruth Britton, 84, of Knoxville, IL, died at OSF in Galesburg on September 23, 2023, with family by her side.
Ruth was born on October 21, 1938, second child of Ruth (Lafferty) and Willard Wainman. She married Jerry Britton in 1957. They were married 28 years. They divorced and he preceded her in death in 2020. Ruth spent the rest of her life, about 33 years, with partner Linda Kroeger until her death in 2020.
She is survived by daughter Maria (Doug) Beardsley, son Jerry Britton Jr, step daughter Diane (Jeff) Miller and step son Brian (Juliette) Kroeger; grandchildren, Vance (Heidi) Swope, Justin Britton, Randy Swope, and Jessica Britton, Daniel Miller, Kaitlyn Miller, Aidan and Owen Kroeger; great grandchildren Alyssa, Violet, Logan, Roman, Kyla; brother Steve (Shawna) Wainman. Ruth was preceded in death by her parents, Ruth and Willard, sister Betty, and brother Bill.
Ruth and Jerry moved west making a cattle ranch in New Mexico and then the Front Range in Colorado their homes over the years. She loved the ranch life while in New Mexico and reflected with her brother that these early simple years were some of her favorites. In Colorado, Ruth started working as a bus driver in Fort Collins for Poudre R1 School District and was asked to take on the challenge of developing a Driver Training & Safety Program. Her program was a success, thanks to her natural organization and presentation skills. As word grew, she was invited to help other districts with similar implementations. After retiring, she hit the road with Linda and they enjoyed long hours of talk, laughter, meeting new people and seeing all the sites in the US while delivering motor homes and trailers. Later they settled closer to Linda’s family in TN where Ruth helped support Linda through her illnesses later in life. In the last three years, Ruth returned to her roots in IL and all of her family and here we loved having her back!
Ruth loved to laugh, had a quick wit and was a natural storyteller and public speaker. She had a zest for life, travel, and love of adventure. She traveled all over and likely covered the US multiple times over her years. She had a deep faith, thirst for understanding and an open spiritual exploration in search of the mysteries of life. She loved life, loved her friends and family and did her very best to take a big bite out of her life. She will be dearly missed by all who knew her.
Cremation rites have been accorded. A celebration of life will be held at a later date. Hurd-Hendricks Funeral Homes and Crematory have been entrusted with the arrangements. On-line condolences and/or expressions of sympathy may be sent through www.hurd-hendricksfuneralhome.com
