Ruth McHugh David

Ruth McHugh "Nougie" David was born Aug. 24, 1922, in Baton Rouge and died Sunday, Dec. 16, 2007, in Denham Springs. She was the daughter and only child of T. Jeff McHugh, M.D., of Baton Rouge and Ruth Estelle Puckett of Baton Rouge. She acquired her nickname through her father, who enjoyed bringing home nougat candy to his young daughter as a reward for her patience in waiting for dinner, which was served only after Dr. McHugh had finished his hospital rounds. She was educated in the public schools of East Baton Rouge Parish and graduated from Baton Rouge High School. She attended Stevens College in Columbia, Mo., and LSU. She graduated from the University of Mississippi in June 1944. On July 5, 1944, she married her high school sweetheart, G. Norman David, of Baton Rouge. They were wed at the Central Methodist Church in Kansas City, Mo., because Mr. David was serving in the Army Air Forces at Alliance Air Base, Neb., and could not get more than a weekend leave. After World War II, Mr. and Mrs. David established residency first in Baton Rouge and then in Zachary, where Mr. David owned and managed a general construction company. Her paternal grandfather, Tom Ed McHugh, had served as first mayor of Zachary and as both clerk of court and sheriff of East Baton Rouge Parish. In September 1962, Mr. David, a 1942 journalism graduate of LSU, purchased the Denham Springs News, a newspaper in Livingston Parish, and the couple established residency there. He died in 1977. She never remarried. She was a member of Chi Omega fraternity, Daughters of the American Revolution, the Denham Springs Garden Club and the Suburban Reviewers book club. She was also a longtime contributor to, and ardent supporter of, the Philanthropic Educational Organization, a worldwide organization founded in the United States in 1869 and dedicated to enhanced educational opportunities for women. She is survived by her only child, Jeff McHugh David, of Denham Springs; two grandchildren, Ashleigh David Boudoin and J. McHugh David Jr., both of Denham Springs; and a great-grandchild, Elizabeth Ashleigh Boudoin, of Denham Springs. At her specific request, her obituary was not published until after graveside services were held for her at the McHugh plot at Roselawn Cemetery in Baton Rouge. Services were held Thursday, Dec. 20.