Ruth Elizabeth White (Gallagher) of Peoria, IL passed away peacefully surrounded by loved ones on October 9, 2019 at the early age of 82 at Unity Point Proctor in Peoria, IL. Funeral services will be at 10:00 am Monday, October 14, 2019 at Davison-Fulton Woolsey-Wilton Funeral Home. Visitation will be one hour prior also at the funeral home. Burial will be in Glendale Cemetery in Washington, IL.
Ruth was born in Pekin, IL to Edward and Nellie Gallagher on September 28th, 1937. She graduated Pekin High School in 1955. She married the love of her life, David L. White, on February 27th, 1960. She attended college at Southern Illinois University and Illinois State University, but it did not compare to the education she received raising five boys. She was active at St. Mark’s church in the choir and bell choir. Ruth volunteered in the school library, lunchroom and performed in the annual stunt show at St. Mark’s School. Her hobbies included bowling, where she won 1st place in the St. Mark’s Bowling League. She was a competitive card player with her children and grandchildren and enjoyed playing bridge with her girlfriends. Ruth and Dave never missed a Jeopardy program, even played over the phone when unable to be together. She was a great cook and loved teaching her granddaughters how to make her most requested recipe “rice dressing” along with Christmas candies that were passed down from her mother. Ruth rarely missed the grandchildren’s sporting events from grade school through college, never too shy to vocalize her opinion on a call that was against her grandchild (whether right or wrong). Ruth was a lifelong Cubs fan and watched nearly every game even before the 2016 season. She enjoyed traveling with family and friends. She said she even enjoyed the early days of cross-country camping trips, if you can call 7 people in a popup camper a vacation.
Ruth was preceded in death by her parents Edward and Nellie Gallagher, her older brother Ed Gallagher and her older sister Bernice Larimore. Ruth is survived by her loving husband, David; their five sons: Lee, Chris, Dan (Tina), Tim (Mary), and Marc (Michelle) all of Peoria; her brother Pat (Mickey) Gallagher of Tempe, AZ; sisters- in-law Phyllis Skoglund of Aurora and Carol Beecher of Lincoln; seven grandchildren: Aaron, Stephanie (Tom), Lindsey, Jordan (Austin), Jake, Katie (Alvaro), Cody and one great-grandchild Avery.
Memorial contributions may be made to the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. The family of Ruth would like to extend a sincere thank you to Dr. Lizer and the staff at Unity Point Proctor ICCU for their exceptional care.
To view her memorial page or to leave an online condolence please go to www.woolsey-wilton.com.
