Ruth Atkins, age 93, of Mt. Carroll, Illinois passed away Monday, July 20, 2015 at the Good Samaritan Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, Mt. Carroll. A funeral service will be held noon Saturday, July 25, 2015 at the Law-Jones Funeral Home, Mt. Carroll. Visitation will be held from 10:00 – noon, prior to the service. Burial will be in Oak Hill Cemetery, Mt. Carroll. A memorial has been established for Heartland Pet Welfare and the First Baptist Church. Family and friends are invited to share in Ruth’s life at
www.lawjonesfuneralhome.com
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Ruth was born January 19, 1922 in the family home on Creamery Hill Road, the daughter of George Washington and Elsie Viola (Pauley) Hartman. She is a 1940 graduate of the Mt. Carroll High School. On September 30, 1945, Ruth married Dr. Robert C. Atkins. Ruth and Doc went where his work as a Veterinarian for State of Illinois took them, living in Champaign, Galena, and Dixon. They later returned to Mt. Carroll where Ruth worked as a bank teller for the National Bank, a secretary for the Circuit Clerk and a part-time secretary for a law practice. She and Doc celebrated fiftyone years of marriage, prior to Doc’s death in 1997.
Ruth was a member of the First Baptist Church of Mt. Carroll. She had a lifelong love of all animals, particularly of her dogs and cats. She also enjoyed flowers, music, playing the organ, and cooking for family and friends. Ruth cherished the days of fishing with her husband and family at Balsam Lake, Wisconsin, and the time she spent with the “Golden Girls Luncheon Group.”
She will be dearly missed by her daughter, Anne (James) Burch of Mt. Carroll? two grandchildren, Martha (Curt) Rendall of Franklin Grove, Illinois and Matthew (Tiffany) Burch of Raleigh, North Carolina? two stepgrandchildren, Susan (Sal) Gomez of Rockford, Illinois and Sheri (Jason) Schwartz of Prophetstown, Illinois? six greatgrandchildren? and a brother, George David Hartman of Mt. Carroll. Ruth is preceded in death by her husband, both parents and three sisters-in-law.