Ruth Cecelia Lawson, 96, Peabody Retirement Community, North Manchester, died at 11:12 a.m., Wednesday, Oct. 5, 2016 at Peabody. She was born May 3, 1920 in Monroeville, to Adolph and Blanche (Leonard) Westrick.

Ruth was a 1937 graduate of Rock Creek High School in Huntington County, and attended International Business College in Fort Wayne one year. She married Benjamin S. Lawson, Sr. in Corpus Christi, Texas Aug. 28, 1943; he died May 29, 1969. She sold World Book Encyclopedias for 30 years. She was a member of St. Bernard Catholic Church, the Rosary Sodality, and Church Women United, all of Wabash, and attended St. Robert’s Catholic Church in North Manchester. She was also a member and past president of A.A.R.P., member of Wabash County Council on Aging, and served as the secretary of the F.I.S.H. Board of Directors 23 years. Ruth enjoyed gardening, sewing, and working crossword puzzles. She grew up in Huntington County, lived 65 years in rural Wabash before moving to Peabody in North Manchester in July of 2010.

She is survived by five children, Benjamin S. (Mary) Lawson, Jr. of Tallahassee, Fla.; Steven (Mary Ann) Lawson, Sammamish, Wash.; Rebecca Jocile (Wayne) Allmon of Decatur; Paula (Steven) Moore of Iowa City, Iowa; and Ann Lawson of Winamac; 11 grandchildren, and ten great grandchildren. She was also preceded in death by her parents, two daughters: Sue and Kay Lawson; brother, Lynn Westrick; and two sisters: Maxine Sheets and Rita Shideler.

Funeral services will be 2pm Monday, Oct. 10 at St. Bernard Catholic Church, 188 W. Sinclair Street, Wabash, with Father Sextus Don officiating. Burial will be in Converse Cemetery. Friends may call 1-5 p.m. Sunday at Grandstaff-Hentgen Funeral Service, 1241 Manchester Ave., Wabash, with a rosary service at 5:00 pm.

Preferred memorial is St. Bernard Catholic Church or St. Robert’s Catholic Church.