Ruth Kathryn Kearney Gallaway, 96, passed away on Monday, September 4, 2023.

The family will receive friends at a visitation from 5:00 until 7:00 p.m. on Thursday, September 21st at Lunn's Colonial Funeral Home. Funeral services will be at 1:00 p.m. on Friday, September 22nd at First Baptist Church West Campus, 4317 Barnett Road.  Graveside services will be held in Lanville, Texas, at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, September 23rd under the direction of Lunn's Colonial Funeral Home.

Ruth Kathryn Kearney Gallaway, was born January 29, 1927, in New Kensington, Pennsylvania, to James T. Kearney and Clara Denney Kearney. She was the youngest of five children, one of whom, Margaret, died before Ruth was born. Ruth was adventurous even as a child. She was the first mascot for the New Kensington Crossing Guards, attended three World Fairs and went to shows in New York City with her girlfriends. And, yes, she walked to school in the snow, rain, sleet-whatever winter in Pennsylvania could throw at a girl, all while being perfectly coifed and accessorized.

Ruth worked as a secretary for the Director of HR at Wearever in Pittsburg where she was in charge of intake for all new sales hires. That's where in walked John Mark Gallaway. When Ruth first met him, she wondered if Mark would ever finish a sentence because he talked so slowly. You see, he was a country boy from Laneville, Texas, a town so small if you blinked you would miss it.  Perhaps that was why Mark had to ask Ruth out four times to get a yes, but that yes started a whirlwind of dates.  Ruth was so in love that after getting married in New Kensington on May 5, 1950, she moved to Texas.

Shortly after being married, Mark was recalled to duty with the Navy, and Ruth experienced the 'glamour' of being a navy wife. The first thing she did was move back to Pennsylvania. Then when Mark was initially stationed in San Diego, she drove cross country to rent an apartment. At the time she had to carry her marriage certificate to be able to rent a room. One, she looked too young, and two, nice girls did not travel (or try to rent hotel rooms) alone.

Ruth loved San Diego and became fast friends with a few other women in her Bible studies class. They went to the beach all the time, usually in her car.  Next she and Mark were stationed in Hawaii, and the officers were allowed to bring their wives, families and cars. That was six months of bliss. The men went to work in the morning; the wives and families went to the beach.

In the next chapter, after Mark was discharged, they moved to Louisiana, where Ruth learned how to cook all manner of seafood from the family who lived next door. The family loved when it was shrimp boil night at home. Did I mention that Mark had to teach Ruth to cook, as she had never done it while living in Pennsylvania?  Well, she took his lessons to heart and became a good cook and a great baker. Pecan pie was still a special dessert last Christmas.

Mark and Ruth then moved to Kilgore, Texas, where Alison, their older daughter, discovered America, as Daddy was wont to say. Ruth was a stay-at-home mom who did pretty much everything Alison wanted to do, including chickens as pets (in the house), but she drew the line at climbing trees and going barefoot.

Next, the family moved to Garland, where their younger daughter, Joy, was born. Their stay in Garland was short but memorable. Then they moved to Tucker, Georgia for two brief years.

Finally, Mark and Ruth landed in Wichita Falls in 1973 for what would be the rest of Mark's life and all but the last few years of Ruth's life. They were fixtures at First Baptist Church for many of those years. A move to Colonial Baptist lasted for a few more years, then to Lamar Baptist. When Mark died, the Lamar sanctuary was filled to capacity with all the lives he and Ruth had touched. From Meals on Wheels, to ESL, to teaching Sunday school classes, to mission building adventures, Mark and Ruth did it all.  After Mark died, Ruth returned to First Baptist Church and her many friends who were still there. While there she was assigned Roland Ramsey as 'her Deacon', and his wife Laura and daughter Camille became very special friends to Ruth, ones who included her in their lives.

While living in Wichita Falls, Mark and Ruth took many trips. The more special ones included two to Australia for mission building, and two to the Holy Land, including one with a Christian guide who was well versed in all the biblical sites, not just the tourist sites. Another trip that cannot be overlooked was when Ruth and Alison went to visit Joy in London. Oh, the memories of that trip were discussed often. Yet another trip was to New York to attend the wedding of Lex and Shelley Reed, and oh yes, to see Niagara Falls where Mark and Ruth honeymooned. That was a trip with Mark, Ruth, Alison, and Joy filled with laughter and love.

Any recap of Ruth's life cannot overlook her exercise groups. For many, many years Ruth taught, twice a week, a group of women aerobics, stretching, balance, weights, then they went for coffee. And she also exercised two to three times a week at Sheppard AFB. Even after she moved to Autumn Oaks in Corinth, Texas, she participated in, and led, if necessary, the exercise class offered there.

Ruth lived an adventurous life. She read her Bible daily. For many years she managed the list of who was in the hospital, and who needed prayers for other needs, for her Sunday School Class. She moved to Corinth to be close to Joy and David before she had health care needs of her own. That move, although hard, allowed her to become even closer to Hayden and Mason, her grandsons because they were just down the street.

Ruth went out with a bang on Labor Day September 4, 2023, living life on her own terms to the end.

Ruth is predeceased by her parents, her beloved husband Mark, all of her siblings and their spouses.

She is survived by her daughter Alison Gallaway and husband Andy Carson; her daughter Joy Gallaway Payne and husband David Payne; grandsons Hayden and Mason Payne; her niece Clara and husband Bob Eastland; her nephews Bill Loos and wife Nycha Schlegel and Keith and wife Debbie Kearney; her nieces Leslie Kearney, Mary Anne and husband Lowell Hayes, their children Anne and husband Kris Kramer, and John Hayes, her niece Janelle and Chuck Dechert, their children Stephen and wife Elizabeth Dechert, and Sally Dechert, her niece Rosemary Whitten, her nephew Alan and wife Marina Whitten, their children Zachary and Lorna Whitten, her nephew Nate Whitten, his daughter Johanna Whitten her husband Scott Webb, special friends Jayne Steed, Roland, Laura and Camille Ramsey , and other friends too numerous to mention.

In lieu of flowers, please send memorials to Hospice of Wichita Falls, TX, navigators.org, or gideons.org, or a charity of your choice.