Ruth Wilde Smith

January 12, 1931- April 28, 2019

Ruth Ellen Wilde Smith died of Alzheimer’s disease on April 28, 2019. Born to Professor Earle Irving Wilde and Laura Kempton Wheeler Wilde at home in State College, Pennsylvania on January 12, 1931, she remained in her hometown until her marriage, shortly after graduating from high school, to the late Major Richard Henry Smith. They followed a life in the Air Force living in Texas, Hawaii, and South Carolina until moving to Springfield, Virginia in 1965. Ruth was active in the Officer’s Club, the Episcopal Church of the Good Shepard, quilting and genealogy. She was a Regent in the Daughters of the American Revolution and a member of the Colonial Dames and Mayflower Society.

She is survived by her six children, Thomas Henry Smith, Stephen Edward Smith, Margaret (Peggy) Elaine Smith, Richard Lanning Smith and their spouses, Suzanne Travis Wilde and Madelyn Elizabeth Smith, seven grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.

A memorial service will be held on Wednesday May 15 at 10 AM at Demaine Funeral Home, 5308 Backlick Road, Springfield, Virginia and burial will be at Arlington National Cemetery at a later date.