Ruth "Bill" Cranford Pearce

Beavercreek, OH

Ruth “Bill” Cranford Pearce, 102, has graduated from this estate and reunites with family long missed and cherished. Ruth passed away after a short residency in Beavercreek Health & Rehab on October 1, 2024. Ruth was raised in Patrick, SC by William Thomas Cranford and Mary Williams Cranford. 

She was preceded in death by her parents, eight siblings, her husband Legrande Pearce, and her eldest son James William Pearce. She is survived by her son, Wayne Thomas Pearce of Beavercreek, OH and numerous extended family. 

Ruth resided in Patrick until she married and moved to Winston-Salem, NC with her husband. The initial homestead was one bedroom apartment with two other dwellers sharing a single bathroom. After buying their first home which was later sold for the development of a service station, they moved to an address on Ebert Street in the Ardmore school district that became home for almost seventy years. Ruth’s husband died in 1956, and single parenting was a challenge met well by her. She eagerly pursued all the sports that her sons were participating in. Boy Scouts of America was an activity that Ruth committed to with zeal as a Den Mother for her children and led to a tenure of nine years well past the stint of her sons. 

Ruth continued to delight in her son’s activity in scouting and was happy to buy in excess for every fund raiser. Ruth was a champion volunteer by serving six times as a grade mother while the boys attended Ardmore Elementary and was a stalwart resource for Junior High transportation at the new Dalton JH. Attendance was a given while her sons participated in sports and other activities at R.J.Reynolds High School. Many a night was spent feeding quarters for the lights in Hanes Park to play tennis in a much-appreciated break from the heat. Ruth endured and performed through many challenges due to her faith in Heavenly Father. Her eldest son told a family member that Mother would need to know in plenty of time to petition the Lord’s assistance if it involved an activity that put a son somewhere she was not. She made time for scripture study and sought to fulfill life in a Christ-like example. Her quotes are famous to the point of nursing home staff quoted missing the “counsel from Ruth”. Ruth believed that serving the Lord meant membership in and attendance to church. The moves within the Southern Baptist Convention came as residences changed. Ruth moved her membership from Patrick Baptist Church to Urban Street Baptist Church and Ardmore Baptist Church both of which are located Winston-Salem, NC. From teaching, to calling and follow up contact, to nursery, to cooking, to spiritual and emotional support, Ruth was forever grateful for the opportunity to serve her brother and sisters in the gospel. Ruth was full of energy and an abundance of time when the sons left for education, military service, and family continuance. Ruth went to work for Federated Department Stores, the local names changed as often as the weather. Ruth was a valued employee that was there when she was supposed to be, happy in the element of retail as her father had a country store that allowed for the paths of Legrande and Ruth to cross. While many times being offered the opportunity for supervision, she suggested service as a salesperson was the fit for her. “I do not have the patience for someone told to do something and then ignore, I am pretty sure I would say the wrong thing”. Upon retirement Ruth visited the sick, brought food to the needy, provided transportation working for that varsity letter that her eldest son thought should have been awarded. Ruth left a mark with many and requested a different avenue in lieu of flowers of which she loved. “Honor me (Ruth) with good deeds, visit someone you do not want to, and if those are too hard for you, attend church next Sabath”. 

Adkins Funeral Home in Enon Ohio and Kiser Funeral Home in Cheraw, South Carolina will be assisting Ruth’s family with her final wishes. 

A Graveside Service for Ruth will be in Patrick Cemetery, Patrick, SC on Tuesday, October 8, 2024, at 10 a.m. by Kiser Funeral Home, Cheraw, South Carolina.