Ruth Helen Perry

On November 29, 2019, Ruth passed away peacefully in her sleep in Fredericksburg, Virginia of heart disease. She was 91 years old. Ruth was born August 24, 1928 in Colt, Arkansas to William Warren Adair and Ida May Allen. She moved to California with several members of her family in 1938. Ruth rode sitting on an upturned bucket in the back of their1920 Nash. She grew up in Tulare, California and attended Dinuba High School. She always had a critical eye on herself along with everyone else in her life, but her tendency to always speak her mind was matched by her dry sense of humor. Life’s tragedies were often recrafted using great imagination into a funny story. Ruth was a single mom who kept her family together during hard times. Along the way she was a waitress at Lockheed Martin in Palmdale, California, a pioneering female cook for the Denny’s Restaurant chain, a licensed nurses aid, a truck driver and a dog groomer. Throughout her life, she had many adventures, and always did things her way. Ruth was most proud of getting her GED because she was able to attend High School with one of her Grandsons. She was known by her family as a garage-sale queen who kept her treasures because, “Someone might be able to use it later.” She nearly always had some biscuits or cornbread in the kitchen to offer visitors. She loved being barefooted, gardening, and reading. She always kept busy puttering in her house on the hill and enjoyed sitting on her deck watching the sunset and the stars. After she moved to Virginia, she built a new life and enjoyed making new friends, playing bingo, being on committees at assisted living, doing crafts, and knowing all the latest gossip. Of late, she spent time watching her “Cowboys” on TV. Ruth is survived by her daughters, Judy Harper of Prather, California, Barbara Porter of Crescent City, California; Nancy LeMieux and her husband Michael of Fredericksburg Virginia, and her brother, Gary Adair of Auberry. She had 10 Grandchildren and many Great Grandchildren and Great-Great Grandchildren. She also leaves her favorite Grand-dog, Truman. She was predeceased by her daughter Margie Wyman, brothers Warren Allen Adair and Larry Lavelle Adair, sister Pansy (Adair) Nova, and by her beloved dogs, Joey, Max and Hank. And as Ruth often happily noted, she outlived all six of her husbands and significant others. Ruth loved the outdoors and the desert sun. According to her wishes, she will be cremated, and her ashes laid to rest at Joshua Memorial Park and Mortuary in Lancaster, California, the place she was “the happiest.” She did not want a memorial service. In lieu of flowers, Ruth asked her friends and family to make donations to their local SPCA, to their local veterans’ organization, or to the Wounded Warriors Foundation.