Ruth Lorena Lepper

Ruth Lorena Lepper
Jacksonville - Ruth Lorena Lepper, aged 99 and a half, of Jacksonville, IL died Monday, May 12, 2025, at Passavant Memorial Hospital, just shy of a century after she was born at the same hospital on November 16, 1925. She was the second child of E. Clyde and Evalee (Petefish) Lewis of rural Ashland. Ruth married Dale Robert Lepper of Quincy on September 21, 1947, and he preceded her in death on January 9, 1990. She was also preceded in death by her brother, Carroll D. Lewis, and his wife Helen.
Ruth is survived by her children, Carolyn Sue Foat (Galen) of Webb City, MO and Gregory Dale Lepper (Diane) of Ashland; four grandchildren, Andrew Jordan Foat (Courtney) of Lawrence, KS, Lindsey Marie Foat (Isaac Kostrow) of Kansas City, MO, Adam Gregory Lepper, and Daniel Robert Lepper (Christy); six great-grandchildren, Kaspar and Ansel Foat, Timothy, Felicity, Elizabeth, and Julie Lepper; and her devoted niece, Christine (Alan) Evans. She is also survived by Dale's sister, Shirley, and a nephew and several nieces from Dale's side of the family.
She grew up on her family's farm and rode her beloved pony, Tony, to Hazel Dell, a one-room school. Because she was the only second grader and exceptionally sharp, she joined the third-grade class. Ever the overachiever, she graduated as valedictorian of her class from Ashland High School and at age 16 entered the University of Illinois with a full-ride scholarship. She graduated there in 1946 and began teaching English at Athens High School.
She met the one and only love of her life, Dale, at Rural Youth Camp (predecessor to 4- H). After they married at Berea Christian Church in Ashland, they lived on his family farm in Quincy. In 1949 their daughter, Carolyn, was born, followed by their son, Greg, three years later. Ruth taught English at Quincy Senior High School and helped Dale with his hybrid seed corn business. She also served as president of the American Association of University Women, a 4-H leader and PTA president.
Ruth and her husband hosted a foreign exchange student from Germany, brought there by the Quincy Rotary Club. This began a friendship that has now spanned three generations.
Dale was forced to quit the hybrid seed corn business due to health reasons, and so they moved to Ashland to operate Ruth's family farm. She raised her family there during the next 50 years and was a strong supporter of Dale's innovations as a no-till pioneer. One of their fields has been no-tilled for almost 60 years, one of the longest continuous no-till fields in the state.
Ruth taught English at Ashland High School until she retired. To this day, many of Mrs. Lepper's former students credit her strict teaching of grammar as a life-long skill, which has contributed to their success. She received their lifetime alumni award.
She was a member, pianist, and board secretary of Berea Christian Church. She also served as long-time president of the Berea Ladies' Aid Society. As chairman of the Berea Sesquicentennial Celebration in 2002, she wrote a history of the church, school, and cemetery, which was presented in pageant form at the graves of the church founders.
Ruth was a member of the Rev. James Caldwell Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution and a member of the Ashland Women's Club. She served two terms and was secretary of the Passavant Area Hospital board during a period of great expansion. One of the major accomplishments was the building of the large south addition housing new surgical suite, intensive and coronary care units, and two new nursing units.
Ruth's smarts, dedication, and hard work prepared her well for her ultimate calling: genealogy. Her attention to detail and relentless research took her far and wide. Whenever they drove past a cemetery, Dale would ask her if she knew anyone in there. Chances are she did, and none of her four grandchildren survived a road trip without tromping through at least several cemeteries in the hot summer sun.
She helped hundreds of other genealogists learn proper research techniques while uncovering past details of her family. In 1979, she published the first of several massive tomes: History and Genealogy of the Petefish Family in America 1752-1979. This was in the day before computers, so every typewritten page had to be perfectly printer ready – no whiteout allowed! One mistype and the entire page had to be redone. She printed 550 copies, 55 of which still reside in libraries across the country.
Her first book was followed by Descendants of Samuel Lewis and Mary Miller in the 19th and 20th Centuries and The Lepper Family of Adams County, Illinois.
She worked countless hours accumulating and verifying information on other area families. She took this research seriously, and we fully expect that she will haunt anyone who does not properly site her work in their genealogy. You have been warned.
Ruth was an avid member of the Jacksonville Area Genealogical Society and for many years had a featured article in the Illinois Genealogical Society Quarterly.
She and Dale traveled extensively, visiting all 50 states, almost all western European countries. Ruth later traveled to Australia, New Zealand and Nova Scotia. She often found family ties in Germany, England, and beyond.
Ruth's final years were spent at Cedarhurst of Jacksonville, where she made many friends.
A funeral service will be held 11 a.m. Friday, May 16, 2025, at the Buchanan & Cody Funeral Home in Jacksonville, with burial at Berea Cemetery near Ashland. The family will meet friends the evening before at the funeral home in Jacksonville from 4 to 6 p.m. Memorial donations are suggested to Berea Christian Church or Berea Cemetery Association. The Buchanan & Cody Funeral Home in Jacksonville is in charge of the arrangements. Condolences may be left online at buchanancody.com.