Ruth Arnold

Mattoon, IL - Ruth I. Arnold, age 91, of Mattoon, IL, passed away at 10:45 a.m., Tuesday, December 3, 2013, at her residence.\r\n\r\nThe funeral mass in her honor will begin at 11:00 a.m., Monday, December 9, at the Immaculate Conception Church in Mattoon, IL, with Father John Titus officiating. Interment will be in Roselawn Cemetery, Charleston, IL. \r\n\r\nVisitation will be held at the funeral home from 9:30 a.m., Monday, until the service begins.\r\n\r\nBorn in Oakley, IL, on March 22, 1922, Ruth was the daughter of Ira and Lena (Probst) Wheeler. She married Joseph M. Schumacher in Urbana, IL, in 1941. He passed away in 2000. She later married Albert Arnold in Mattoon, IL, in 1985. He passed away in 1999. Survivors include one daughter, Ann Elzy and husband Carl of Lovington, IL; two sons, David J. Schumacher and wife Evelyn of Springfield, IL, and Paul Schumacher and wife Debra of Mattoon, IL; seven grandchildren, Annamaria Barber and husband Ron of Charleston, IL, Mark Heise and wife Richelle of Venice, FL, Ruthann Hughes and husband Ken of Charleston, IL, Gretchen Kapraun of Maroa, IL; Michael Heise and wife Amelia of Charleston, IL, Bridget Skoczylas and husband Ed of Park Ridge, IL, Sarah Watson and husband Nathan of Urbana, IL; fifteen great grandchildren; and two nieces, Marilouise Miller and Emily Chamberlain, both of Decatur, IL. She was preceded in death by a brother, Floyd Wheeler and a sister, Mildred Chaney, both of Decatur, IL; a son-in-law, Bill Heise of Charleston, IL; and two nieces, Ruth Spencer and Marilyn Berg of Clinton, IL.\r\n\r\nRuth graduated from Cerro Gordo High School in 1940. She was a former co-owner of the Ben Franklin Variety Store on Western Avenue in Mattoon, IL. She was also a former Welcome Wagon Hostess in Mattoon for 16 years, and worked in the Adams Memorials Mattoon office for six years. She was a member of the Immaculate Conception Catholic Church. Her volunteer work included Lincoln Land Hospice, Sarah Bush Lincoln Health Center Guild, Sarah Bush Lincoln Health Center Lifeline Program, the American Heart Association, and the Mattoon Community Food Center. \r\n\r\nRuth was a homemaker who loved to cook and read. Over the years, she did some piano playing and needlework. Before settling in Mattoon with Joe, she lived in Decatur and Ottawa, IL, Mississippi, Virginia, California, Japan, and Germany.\r\n \r\nMemorials in her honor may be made to the Mattoon Community Food Center, 600 Moultrie Avenue, Mattoon, IL 61938.\r\n\r\nPlease visit www.mitchell-jerdan.com or www.facebook.com/mitchelljerdanfuneralhome to light a virtual candle in her honor or share a memory with her family. \r\n

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Ruth Arnold

March 22, 2022 - December 3, 2013