Ruth Burts King

1921 - 2017

Ruth Burts King

Greenville

Ruth Burts King, 96, widow of John Monroe King, passed away Sunday, June 4, 2017 at the home of Michael and Becky King in Greer, SC. She was born May 3, 1921, daughter of the late Clarence Michael and Minnie Lee Gailey Burts of Abbeville County.

In addition to her parents and husband, she was predeceased by a sister and three brothers. Survivors include two sons and their wives, Michael and Becky King and David and Sharon King; four grandchildren, John King, Melissa Mulvihill, Erin Johnson and Brennan King; great-granddaughters, Gretchen Kale and Abigail Mulvihill, and a sister, Patricia Morgan of Newport News, VA.

She was a 1941 graduate of Winthrop College with a B.S. degree and a member of Beta Beta Beta, an honorary biology fraternity. She did graduate work at Furman University.

When World War II began during her first year teaching, she helped register men for military service. In 1943, she and three other teachers were in Lakeland, FL, when they heard that the linemen being drafted from the nearby Lodwick School of Aeronautics needed to be replaced. They were hired and trained to do preflight inspections, warm-ups, and other duties involved in the care and use of the trainers, each lineman being assigned responsibility for ten planes.

Ruth taught for forty-years, the final twenty-three at Christ Church Episcopal School where she was a member of the Cum Laude Society. During the summers she enjoyed tours to Israel, Australia, New Zealand and throughout Europe with her husband, other teachers and friends.

She served faithfully in many capacities as a member of First Baptist Church of Travelers Rest.

A private family graveside service will be held at Woodlawn Memorial Park in Greenville. Memorials may be made to First Baptist Church Travelers Rest, 20 McElhaney Road, Travelers Rest, 29690.