Ruth King

Ruth King passed away peacefully on Friday 8/21/26 in Albuquerque, NM.

She was born in Freeport, Illinois 3/25/1927 and lived life fully for 99 and a half years.

We will not be having a traditional funeral, as she decided to donate her body to science with the UNM Anatomical Donation program. They will eventually send the cremains to the family, so we can bury her beside her husband Henry in Carlsbad, NM. In lieu of flowers a donation to the public library in her name or to the Young at Heart Choir www.yahchoir.org would honor her memory.

Ruth was a survivor: born 1927 with a relatively new procedure- cesarian birth; survived the placenta previa birth of daughter in 1953 in small town Deming where the anesthesiologist was the local dentist; and a melanoma cancer survivor after leg surgery in 1981. She believed in exercising, vitamins and healthy eating so was able to Keep Moving and be active until her final months. Ruth loved to dance and she and her husband were active in Square Dancing for over 30 years. Later she did line dancing, water aerobics and exercise classes. She walked to keep her 3000 steps a day average for as long as she could.

Ruth worked hard starting at 17 as a bookkeeper for the US Forest Service (1944 summer job). She did bookkeeping and clerical work for various companies, then in 1958 started working for Luna County in Deming, NM. She was either elected as County Clerk or retained as Chief Deputy Clerk for the next 22 years. She helped the county system transition through hand written, typed and photostatic recording methods to microfilm and on to computer systems.

In 1981 she lost the election, but was quickly hired as the Chief Deputy Clerk in Eddy County in Carlsbad, NM. She had served NM county government for 30 years when she retired in 1989.

She frequently went to Santa Fe to serve on committees and was President of the New Mexico Association of Counties in 1974-75. She was a member of the International Association of Clerks, Recorders, Election Officials and Treasurers and traveled to many IACREOT annual conferences across the USA. While in Carlsbad she was active in Altrusa, Toastmasters and was active with the IGNC International Good Neighbor Council with goodwill travel into Mexico.

FAMILY: Ruth met a Marine in California after the war and married Henry King in Boise, Idaho in 1946 and was married for 45 years, until Henry passed away in 1991 in Carlsbad, NM.

They raised 3 children: David, Danny (passed in 2017) and Kay. Ruth is also survived by: the children’s spouses: Laurie and Scott 5 nephews and nieces: Betty Jean, Joanne, Paul, David, and Martha 6 grandchildren: Wesley, Amber, Kim, Ashley, Katie and Stephanie 10 Greats: Giovanni, Daisy, Nathan, Isabella, Devon, Nika, Wilder, Fiona, Margot, Alice and 1 Great great grandson Elias. 

She loved to travel to visit family and explore new places. She was a widow for 35 years and did most of her traveling with friends to Mexico, Alaska, Italy, Australia and New Zealand to mention a few. She moved to Albuquerque in 1996 and was very active in Young at Heart Choir for about10 years and traveled to Branson and other concerts with the choir.

In 2021 Ruth moved to an independent living complex after spending a year and a half at son David’s home in the Tijeras canyon foothills during ‘Covid isolation’. She enjoyed getting to know neighbors, exercising, bookclub, building jigsaw puzzles and playing games. She enjoyed welcoming new residents and inviting them to share a meal with her. “She chose to be Kind.”

Ruth was able to drive her car till she was 97 and knew her way around Albuquerque. As she slowed down and transitioned from a cane to a walker, oxygen use and then to a wheelchair, she still found ways to have fun and be friendly.

She received wonderful assistance from in home caregivers as needed, then went on hospice in March 2026 and moved to an assisted living small group home for her final 3 months. Ruth was the heart and soul of our family, our matriarch, and she was 99 Years LOVED!! Heaven has a new FUN and FEISTY Angel.

Ruth's first granddaughter Amber Ruth King shared these thoughts:

The energy of our matriarch has untangled and released its last threads from the order that it kept for 99 years. In some of our final conversations she expressed that she was ready, so I will swaddle my sadness with the cloak of love she leaves in her stead. I shall temper my heartbreak with the warmth of her memory, for as surely as I carry her name as part of my own, her kindness, bravery and love of life and adventure are woven into the foundational fibers of the legacy she created. It is a rare gift of a person that leaves behind nothing but love.