Ruth Virginia Watkins

Ruth Virginia Watkins passed from this life into the loving arms of her Heavenly Father Saturday evening, May 14, 2022. Ruth was a much beloved wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, and friend. Ruth retired from Chrysler First after many years, however, her greatest joys in life were taking care of and loving her family. She was an excellent cook, a wonderful baker, and she could fix anything with Elmer’s glue and a bobby pin. She was exceptionally artistic – including painting, crafting, and even cutting her own wood-working designs. She felt blessed to be a part of the “Crafty Ladies” painting group for many years. Ruth was an extremely hard-working woman, including sewing all of her daughters’ clothing, gardening and canning, and turning her house into a loving home for her family. But most of all, she loved and supported her husband, John R. Watkins, who preceded her in death.
Ruth was born August 4, 1931 to Hunter Argil and Goldie Pearl (Arbogast) Hartley in Fairmont, West Virginia. She was an immersed believer in Jesus Christ and a member of Lithopolis United Methodist Church.
To quote her niece, Linda: “imagine the celebration as her soul went through the gates, absent from the body, present with the Lord.”
Ruth is survived by her daughters, Debby (Tom) Allen and Cindy (Jim) Cox; grandchildren, Jason (Rebecca) Allen, Julia (Andrew) Standeford, Jamie (Liza) Cox, Ryan (Jessica) Cox, and Brittany (Chad) Thurkettle, great-grandchildren, Gabriel Allen, Anna, Alex, and Ava Standeford, Josie and Cruz Cox, Delayna, Zaylee, Baylin, and Saylor Cox, Bristol and another Thurkettle great grandchild arriving in September, sister Mary D’Anselmi, brother Robert Hartley, numerous nieces and nephews, and her long time and loving caregiver, Helen Cicatiello.
She was preceded in death by her husband of 61 years, John R. Watkins, brothers, John Hartley and Eugene Hartley, sisters, Regina Poling and Nancy Snyder.
Visitation will take place Tuesday at 1:00pm at Lithopolis United Methodist Church, 80 N. Market Street, Lithopolis, Ohio 43136. Funeral service at 2:00pm with Pastor Alex Feldman officiating. Interment will follow at Lithopolis Cementary. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Ruth’s memory to Fairhope Hospice Pickering House https://fairhopehospice.org/donation-page/ .