Ruth Futrelle Thompson

JAMESTOWN- Mrs. Ruth Futrelle Thompson, 86, died Friday May 26, 2006, at Wesley Long Nursing Center.

The funeral service will be held at 2 p.m. Sunday at Hanes-Lineberry Sedgefield Chapel with the Rev. Bill Bigham officiating. Entombment will follow the service in Guilford Memorial Park's Mausoleum.

Born May 14, 1920, to the late William R. and Maud V. Futrelle, Ruth grew up in the Jamestown area and graduated from Jamestown High School and High Point University. She was active in the United Methodist Church all of her life, especially as the wife of a Methodist Minister, her late husband of 59 years, Rev. Walter R. Thompson. She was a lifetime member of Jamestown United Methodist Church. Ruth was a high school home economics teacher and served as church organist for many of her husband's pastorates. As an active member of the Guilford Genealogical Society, she chronicled and authored several books on genealogy and the histories of Jamestown, Guilford County and surrounding counties. She enjoyed spending hours entertaining others with her old-time stories and joyful piano playing.

Those left to cherish her memory include her daughters, Martha Eakes and Betsy Thompson, both of Greensboro and Melinda Merithew and her husband Kris of Flat Rock; grandchildren, Patrick Eakes and his wife Kristen, Emily Sudermann and her husband Michael, and Marian Farrell, all of Greensboro; and great-grandchildren, Sarah and John Eakes, Jackson Sudermann, and Anna and Will Farrell.

The family will receive friends 6 to 8 p.m. today at the funeral home.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorial contributions to The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society 5950 Fairview Rd., Suite 250, Charlotte, NC 28210 or to Greensboro Urban Ministries 305 W. Lee St., Greensboro, NC 27406.