Ruth was born in 1926 in Cleveland, OH; she was the daughter of Albert and Jesse Solether. She married Donald H. Turk in 1950; they resided in Wickliffe, OH, until his death in 1995. She lived in Mentor-on-the-Lake before moving to Raleigh in 2007.
Ruth received a B.A. from Baldwin-Wallace College in 1948 in sociology and anthropology, with a focus on religion. She went to Hartford in 1949 on a Lisle Fellowship in the inner city, to foster intercultural and inter-religious understanding, and create “world-mindedness,” one of many community efforts in her lifelong work for world peace.
Ruth was a member of Pullen Memorial Baptist Church in Raleigh. Previously, she taught Sunday School for many years, and served as a deacon and choir member at Covenant Baptist Church in Wickliffe. She was well-respected for her volunteer work, including the League of Women Voters, Council on Human Relations, and the Ecumenical Institute. She had many interests: she loved fine art, handmade crafts, an eclectic spectrum of music, and enjoyed walking in nature, observing the birds and the plants.
She was preceded in death by her husband, and her sister Jean. She is survived by her four children, Dale (Mary) in Manhattan, NY; Barbara in Brooklyn, NY; Laurel in Sunderland, MA; Glenn (Laura) in Cary, NC; two grandsons, James (Julia) in Washington, DC, and Stephen (Megan) in Durham, NC; eight nieces and nephews, and their children and grandchildren.
A memorial will be held at the Holden Arboretum, Kirtland, OH, as circumstances allow.
Donations in Ruth's memory can be made to Pullen Memorial Baptist Church, 1801 Hillsborough St., Raleigh, NC 27605, or www.pullen.org/donate; please specify the “Emergency Assistance Morris-Hall Fund” housing support mission, “Ruth Turk Memorial Gift.” Donations also can be made to Heifer International, www.heifer.org, working to eradicate poverty and hunger through sustainable community development.
Online condolences may be made at www.BrownWynneCary.com
SHARE OBITUARY
v.1.8.18