Ruth Barton

On 22 December 2018 Ruth Lou Cole Barton, 95, loving wife and mother of two sons, passed away in Hospice Care at The Pines in Davidson, North Carolina. A memorial service will be held at 11:00a.m., Friday, December 28, 2018 at the First United Methodist Church with Pastor Kirk Watson officiating. Burial will follow immediately after service at Rule Cemetery, Rule, TX.

Ruth was born on February 24, 1923 in Rule, Texas to Oswald Cole and Alma (Earnest) Cole. On July 12, 1942 she married Army Air Corps cadet Roger Darl Barton, to whom she was married for 63 years. They raised two sons, Cole and Barry Bruce Barton. Roger was commissioned as a United States Air Force officer and pilot, and he served in three wars. During their 28 military years she and Roger had adventures such as being presented to the Queen of England and ocean cruises, and they lived in places as far flung as Ontario, Honolulu, and Las Vegas. No matter where she lived she made her family and friends feel at home, and she always proudly proclaimed her Texas roots. She was a talented pianist who loved to play. For several years she entertained audiences of friends and prospective residents at The Pines whether with church hymns and popular standards. At the Pines she was widely appreciated for her friendliness, cheerfulness, and sense of style. She was a lifelong member of the Methodist Church, and her faith was the bedrock of her values.

She was preceded in death by her parents, husband, sisters Alma Joanne Simpson and Jane Barrett, and son Barry.

She is survived by son Cole (wife Sydney) Barton of Davidson, NC; grandsons Bret (wife Kimberly) Barton of Tampa, FL, Luke (wife Kim) Barton of Knoxville, TN, and granddaughter Amanda (husband Josh) Fisher of Arnold, MD. She is also survived by daughter-in-law Cynthia Jump Barton; and granddaughters Avril (husband John) Dromgoole and Ashley (husband Edgar) Esquivel,  all of Weatherford, TX. She has 12 great grandchildren and is survived by her niece, Tommye Jo (Bob) Clark of Rule, TX, who has been like a daughter to her. The family has special gratitude for Jeanette Jordan of Mooresville, NC for her care and friendship, as well as for the nursing staff at the Pines in the last weeks of her life.

A reception with family and friends will be held at The Pines at a later date. She will be laid to rest beside her husband and son in Rule, TX.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to The Pines Resident Support Fund, 400 Avinger Lane, Davidson, NC 28036.

Online condolences can be shared with the family at www.smithfamilyfh.com.