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These notices are dated: 01-21-2005
Ruth Puffenberger, community activist
Ruth Graham McGuire Puffenberger, a community activist who adopted people and causes with a brisk and motherly aplomb, died Wednesday night in her sleep at her Garrard Street apartment. She was 88.
Mrs. Puffenberger moved to Covington from Ashland in the 1980s to live near her daughter, Sue Puffenberger.
Sue and "Mother" were soon one of the most recognized duos in town as they worked on community projects, helped plan garden tours with the Historic Licking-Riverside Civic Association and got to know local restaurant owners and city leaders.
When Covington developed its Old Town Plaza, the Puffenbergers strung Christmas lights with city workers in 30-degree weather.
"The next year we repainted all the Christmas displays, " Sue Puffenberger said. "Mother was right there in the old slaughter house on Eastern Avenue, with no heat, painting the angels' wings, the train and soldiers."
Ruth Puffenberger was a longtime volunteer at the Behringer-Crawford Museum in Devou Park, where she painted the Ice Age mural on the veranda and helped turn a fish pond into a flower garden.
"Everybody knew, if they couldn't find anyone else to do something, Mother and I would do it, " Sue Puffenberger said.
When a neighbor became ill and Mrs. Puffenberger learned the woman had no family, she adopted her. "Mother took care of everything. If somebody needed help, she'd be there, " Sue Puffenberger said.
Mrs. Puffenberger never worked at a paid job, but she had always jumped in to help when a need arose, from PTA and Scouting when her son and daughter were children to community and church projects in her later years.
She was a member of the Clay City Methodist Church, in Clay City, where she was born; of the First United Methodist Church Women's Society in Covington and Rebecca Bryan Boone Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution in Northern Kentucky and the Poague Chapter DAR in Ashland.
Mrs. Puffenberger was a fixture on Covington's streets, a tiny lady in a natty fedora, usually on some mission.
She once threatened to apply for the job of city manager. "If you didn't want to know what she thought of something, you didn't ask her, " Sue Puffenberger said.
A stroke nine years ago slowed her down, but she still insisted on getting out every day. While others huddled indoors after the Christmas week snowstorm, she headed to the Old Town Caf� for her usual breakfast. The car got stuck in the snow. "Three fellows on their way to Fairhaven homeless shelter pushed the car. Then they walked her to the Old Town, " Sue Puffenberger said.
Her mother was "a Kentucky 'Steel Magnolia, '" Sue Puffenberger said. "She had a lot of backbone and didn't take anything from anybody."
Her husband, Lowell D. Puffenberger died in 1974.
Surviving in addition to her daughter is a son, L. Dale Puffenberger Jr. of Covington.
Services will be 3 p.m. Saturday at Allison & Rose Funeral Home, Covington. Visitation will be from 1 to 2:45 p.m. Saturday at the funeral home. Additional services will be Sunday at the Clay City Methodist Church in Clay City. Burial will be at Eaton Cemetery, Clay City.
Memorials may be made to the Behringer-Crawford Museum, 1600 Montague Road, P.O. Box 67, Covington, Ky. 41012.
Ross Immitt Ausmus, 88, of Shelbyville, formerly of Grants Lick, died Wednesday at Masonic Retirement Home, Shelbyville. He was a retired employee of Szabo Food Service, a deacon with First Baptist Church of Newport and an Army veteran of World War II and the Korean War. His wife, Dorothy Ausmus, died in 1992.
Survivors include a daughter, Judy Kees of Shelbyville; a sister, Mylia Thomas of Corbin; and two grandchildren.
Services will be at noon Saturday at Cooper Funeral Home, Grants Lick. Visitation will begin there at 10 a.m. Saturday. Burial will be in Butler Cemetery. Memorials are suggested to Manna House, in care of Dan Boden, 20102 Kingsland Blvd., Katy, Texas 77450.
Ruth Watson Beckett, 91, of Carlisle, died Wednesday at Johnson Mathers Nursing Home in Carlisle. She was a former homemaker and a member of Unity Christian Church. Her husband, Catherwood "Carl" Beckett, preceded her in death.
Survivors include sons, Robert W. Beckett of Fayette County, James T. Beckett of Las Vegas and Bill R. Beckett of Winchester, Ohio; a daughter, Barbara Lane Cover of Lady Lake, Fla.; seven grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren.
Services will be at the convenience of the family. Memorials are suggested to Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, P.O. Box 779, Minneapolis, Minn. 55440.
Mildred B. Edmonds Brownfield, 82, of Fort Wright, died Thursday at St. Elizabeth Medical Center South, Edgewood.
Arrangements are pending at Allison and Rose Funeral Home, Covington.
Theodore Froelicher, 64, of Walton, died Thursday at St. Elizabeth Medical Center South, Edgewood. He was a retired machinist with Siemens in Norwood, Ohio, and an assistant fire chief with the city of Walton. He was a member of the Walton Volunteer Fire Department for 28 years, and was a former member of the Florence Volunteer Fire Department.
Survivors include his wife, Mary Ann Halsey Froelicher; a daughter, Patricia Nitschke of Florence; sons, Allen Turner of Temple, Texas, and John C. Turner of Crestwood; his mother, Charlotte VonHandorf Froelicher of Covington; sisters, Estelle Nunn of Hebron, Mary Rabe and Faye Mueller, both of Covington, and Marie Hall of Florence; brothers, Stanley Froelicher of Glencoe, Blakely Froelicher of Florence and Joseph Froelicher of Covington; three grandchildren and a great-grandchild.
Services will be at 11 a.m. Monday at Chambers and Grubbs Funeral Home, Walton. Visitation will be from 3 to 6 p.m. Sunday at the funeral home. Burial will be in Walton Cemetery. Memorials are suggested to Walton Volunteer Fire Department, 11 High School Court, Walton, Ky. 41094.
Genevieve Norwick Gelke, 86, of Fort Thomas, died Wednesday at St. Luke Hospital East, Fort Thomas. She was an audit department supervisor with the Internal Revenue Service in Covington and an Army veteran. Her husband, James R. Gelke, preceded her in death.
Survivors include sons, Mark Gelke of Cincinnati and Kim Gelke of Champaign, Ill.; brothers, Ralph Norwick and Merle Norwick, both of Illinois; a sister, Donna Wurzelbacher of Cincinnati; and five grandchildren.
Services will be at 11 a.m. Monday at A.C. Dobbling and Son Funeral Home, Fort Thomas. Visitation will begin there at 9 a.m. Monday. Burial will be in Evergreen Cemetery, Southgate.
Joe E. Hickey, of Covington, died Thursday at St. Elizabeth Medical Center South, Edgewood. He was a construction worker and an Army veteran.
Survivors include daughters, Tarin, Heather, Savannah and Cierra; his parents, Buster Hickey of Taylorsport and Linda Reeves Terry of Goshen, Ohio; and brothers, Steven Hickey of Batavia, Ohio, and Scott Hickey of Covington.
Services will be at the convenience of the family. Visitation will be from 3 to 5 p.m. Saturday at A.C. Dobbling and Son Funeral Home, Bellevue. Cremation will be at Southwest Ohio Crematory, Milford, Ohio.
Fredrick Partin, 71, of Walton, died Thursday at his home.
Arrangements are pending at Allison and Rose Funeral Home, Taylor Mill.
Paul Boone Rose, 63, of Bedford, died Thursday at his home. He was a retired corrections officer with the Kentucky Correctional Psychiatric Center in LaGrange and a member of Family Worship Center, Carrollton.
Survivors include his wife, Margaret L. Rodgers Rose; daughters, Christina M. Wilson of Osgood, Ind., Paula J. Lawn of Bedford, Kelly J. Stephen of Versailles, Ind., Patsy L. Cron of Worthville, Jackie Cooper and Connie Eaves, both of LaGrange, and Linda Grisso of Dallas; sons, Eddie R. Rose of Bedford, Scott T. Rose and John L. Rose, both of Worthville, Alex W. Rose of Owenton, Adam W. Rose of Carrollton and David Goetzinger of Louisville; his mother, Oma Craft Rose of Napoleon, Ind.; a sister, Alice Bryant of Indianapolis; a brother, Raymond W. Rose of Batesville, Ind.; 38 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.
Services will be at 2 p.m. Sunday at Tandy-Eckler-Riley Funeral Home, Carrollton. Visitation will begin there at noon Sunday.
Alex Edward Schnitzler, 92, of Morning View, died Thursday at St. Luke Hospital East, Fort Thomas. He was a retired heating and air conditioning serviceman with Technical Service Corp. and a member of Oak Island Baptist Church, Morning View. His wife, Katie Schnitzler, died in 1993. A daughter, Loretta May Fisk, died in 2003.
Survivors include daughters, Flora Louise Hardin of Salado, Texas, Jeanie Kuntz of Alexandria, Ethel Marie House of Covington and Shirley Glass of Crittenden; a stepson, Earl Greenlee of Petersburg; a sister, Mary Moss of Indianapolis; stepbrothers and stepsisters, 29 grandchildren, 26 great-grandchildren and a great-great-grandchild.
Services will be at 11 a.m. Saturday at Chambers and Grubbs Funeral Home, Independence. Visitation will begin there at 9 a.m. Saturday. Burial will be in Independence Cemetery.
Memorials are suggested to Oak Island Baptist Church, 3445 Moffett Road, Morning View, Ky. 41063.
Melvin B. "Pete" Stockton, 52, of Cincinnati, died Thursday at University Hospital, Cincinnati. He was a meat cutter and a member of Mount Holly Christian Chapel.
Survivors include his wife, Bertha Bishop Stockton; a son, Melvin Bruce "Petie" Stockton Jr. of Cincinnati; daughters, Gwen Stockton and Latosha Stockton, both of Cincinnati; his mother, Laura May Lakes Harris; his father and stepmother, Earl Stockton and Ann Stockton; brothers, Johnny Johnson of Owenton, Tony Johnson and Steven Harris, both of Cincinnati, Dickie Stockton of Falmouth and J.B. Stockton of Warsaw; sisters, Dosha Lee Johnson of Florida, Betty Johnson, Karen Lynn Stockton and Betty Stockton, all of Cincinnati; and five grandchildren.
Services will be at 2 p.m. Saturday at Carlton-Lowder Funeral Home, Warsaw. Visitation will begin there at 10 a.m. Saturday. Burial will be in Warsaw Cemetery.
Edith A. Thomas, 88, of Cynthiana, Cynthiana, died Nov. 19 at Grand Haven Nursing Home, Cynthiana. She was a retired nurse's aide and a member of Milford Christian Church. Her husband, Albert Newt Thomas, and sons, Chester Wayne Thomas, Ronald Eugene Thomas and Gary "Toot" Thomas, all preceded her in death.
Survivors include sons, Jack Thomas and Roger Thomas, both of Cynthiana; daughters, Ramona Ramsey of Falmouth and Judy Tucker of Cynthiana; a brother, Russell Persinger of Milford; sisters, Christine Teegarden of Milford and Jessie Teegarden of Cynthiana; 21 grandchildren, 46 great-grandchildren and 10 great-great-grandchildren.
Services will be at 1 p.m. Monday at Ware Funeral Home, Cynthiana. Visitation will be from 5 to 8 p.m. Sunday at the funeral home. Burial will be in Battle Grove Cemetery, Cynthiana. Memorials are suggested to Grand Haven Nursing Home Activity Fund, 105 Rodgers Park Drive, Cynthiana, Ky. 41031.
Jo Ann Williams, 65, of Latonia, died at 5:22 p.m. Wednesday at St. Elizabeth Medical Center South, Edgewood. She was a homemaker and attended St. John's Church of Christ, Newport.
Survivors include her husband, James R. Williams; a son, James E. Williams of Latonia; daughters, Patricia Sexton and Barbara Mead, both of Neon; seven grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
Services will be at 10 a.m. Saturday at Connley Brothers Funeral Home, Latonia. Visitation will begin there at 9 a.m. Saturday. Burial will be in Highland Cemetery, Fort Mitchell.
Memorials are suggested to the charity of the donor's choice.
