Ruth Eaton

Ruth Eaton, of Midland, Texas passed away peacefully on August 3, 2019.

She was born March 22,1923 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and was the eldest of two daughters born to George Wesley and Ruth Gummere Todd. She graduated from Hirsch High School in Chicago, Illinois in 1941. Ruth had a strong desire to serve her country, but was not old enough to join the military. Her parents signed for her to join the Navy Waves and she served proudly from 1942-1945 during World War II in the hospital corps.

Ruth married and had four children who were all raised in New Mexico where she spent the majority of her adult life. She was very involved in the community of Jal, New Mexico as a member of the First Baptist Church and the Jal Senior Citizens.

She relocated to Midland, Texas in 2004 where she resided at Santa Rita Senior Village. During Ruth’s time in Midland, she was a member of Bellview Baptist Church and loved her Sunday School Class. It was her great pleasure to be a part of the Permian Basin Honor Flight for Veterans to Washington, DC in 2015.  The most important things to Ruth were her faith, her family and her country. She had a large collection of dolls and enjoyed gardening.

Ruth is preceded in death by her husband and love of her life, Bill Eaton.

Ruth is survived by her children Eileen Massey (Dicky), Janice Fouts Scharfenberg (Rick), Clay Hawthorn, and Sheree Brown and two stepchildren, Bill “Champ” Eaton and Daisy Trainor. She has sixteen grandchildren and numerous great-grandchildren whom she loved very much.

Graveside services will be held at 1:00 PM (MST) on Saturday, August 10, 2019 at Woodbine Cemetery in Artesia, New Mexico.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Permian Basin Honor Flight in Ruth Eaton’s name. They can be sent to PO Box 52890, Midland, Texas 79710 or through their website at permianhonorflight.org.