Ruth Elaine (Butcher) Purkey, 86, formerly of Northwood, Ohio passed away peacefully Thursday, June 30, 2022 at Hospice of Northwest Ohio. Ruth was born April 4, 1936 in Morral, Ohio to Charles Butcher and Avah (Wilson) Butcher. She graduated from Lake Local High School in 1952 where she met the love of her life Wallace D. "Wally" Purkey. They married April 17, 1955 in Moline United Methodist Church and honeymooned in Michigan. When they were raising their young children, they lived in Genoa. There Ruth was involved in community theater and circles in the Methodist church. Ruth also enjoyed selling women's jewelry through home shows, and some of her relatives still have some of those now-vintage pieces. Ruth and Wally designed and built their dream home, a lovely Colonial house, in Northwood. They lived there many years and Ruth decorated the house beautifully with authentic Colonial pieces and treasures from their many travels back East as well as in the West. Ruth and her daughter Robin toured Williamsburg and Winterthur, and Ruth found great inspirational design ideas for her own home. Ruth was an excellent gardener, designing several lovely gardens in their back yard on Red Bud Drive. Along with homemaking, Ruth also became an advocate for drug abuse prevention in the DARE program, which was founded by Nancy Reagan in the 80's. Ruth spoke for civic groups and high schools about the dangers of drug use and attended national conferences as well, including one in Washington, DC where she was honored for her excellent leadership. Ruth and Wally both enjoyed visiting museums – both American history museums and art museums. Ruth loved Impressionist artists, her favorite being Pissarro, who is known as the Father of Impressionism. She could teach you so much as she guided you in viewing a gallery full of Impressionist art! Ruth joined Wally in selling insurance at Purkey Insurance. Ruth branched off from the insurance agency and started Purkey Travel in 1991. She took great pride in running her own business and assisting couples in planning a romantic vacation. She excelled in great customer service. Ruth's love of travel and Wally's love of photography took them across the country and outdoors as often as possible. Ruth assisted Wally in creating and running his Images by Wally business showcasing his photography at art shows across the Midwest. After retirement, Ruth enjoyed watercolor painting, drawing, reading and writing letters to family while spending their time in Tucson, Arizona. Ruth is survived by her children, Robin (Steve) VanGorder and Justin (Anna Schmidt) Purkey; grandchildren Megan (J.) Dianda, Devin (Morgan) VanGorder, Kyle (April) Purkey, Tyler (Kerri) Purkey, six great-grandchildren and several nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her parents; husband, siblings Grace Oldaker, Dejon Seas and Charles W. Butcher. Visitation will be held at Eggleston Meinert & Pavley Funeral Home Oregon Chapel, 440 S. Coy Road Tuesday August 9, 2022 from 1:00 pm until time of funeral service at 4:00 pm. Private interment: Lake Township Cemetery. Expressions of sympathy in Ruth's memory are asked to consider Landings of Oregon or Hospice of Northwest Ohio.