Celebration and Culmination of 65 Years of Marriage
Glendon Henry Gale, small town boy from Tully, MA, and Ruth Leary Carr, big city girl from LaGrange, IL, met at a Colorado Woman's College dance when Glen was stationed at Lowery AFB and Ruth was a student at the college and won medals as a member of the shooting and ski teams. It was love at first sight and shortly thereafter they were married on 10/1/1955.
When Glen left the Air Force, they settled in Chicago, IL. Glen joined Cincinnati Time Recorder and Ruth worked in the printing industry for 10 years until they adopted their daughter Kimberly Ann Gale Rowe, who now resides with her husband, Ret. Army Cm. Sgt. MJR Michael Alan Rowe in Hamilton, GA. Later they adopted their son Lawrence Carr Gale now a CPA residing in Copper Hill, TN.
Active in their community with Glen coaching baseball, football and soccer while Ruth was Commissioner of Girls Softball, Glen was promoted to District Manager and in charge of the 8 SE states requiring them to relocate to Atlanta. A few years later, Glen was promoted to Branch Manager in Chicago and they transferred back again and joined the Lions Club and were active with fundraising and eye care. After bringing the branch to over $1M in sales, Glen refused his next promotion to National Sales Manager and took over the Houston, TX office for the Dallas distributor. Both Ruth and Glen were asked to open the West Palm Beach office by the Miami distributor, transferred again they established the office and turned it over to the Distributor's son and created their own "American Dream" of owning their own business. For several years, they flourished with Ruth's Laminating Service; providing their laminating to every printer from Stuart, FL to Boca Raton, FL until Ruth's diabetes onset. They sold their business and on 10/1/1998, they moved to Murphy, NC.
Immediately upon arrival in Murphy, they became active in the community with the Ranger VFD. They were very active in the emerging of Cherokee County Crime Commission, the Ranger Community Center and Meals on Wheels. They were members of the Mtn. Country Rod a& Gun Club where Glen participated in building the Panther Top Shooting Range. Glen joined the American Legion and was the Post Commander and in charge of the Honor Guard until Ruth's health started to fail. They are active members of the Murphy Presbyterian Church which took them both into the Cherokee County Sharing Center. Glen was a Victims Advocate for the Cherokee County Sheriff's Dept. and they both were very active with Toys for Tots and all the other Veterans Service Organizations in the community.
They have been blessed with four grandchildren, Richard Dryman, wife Ashley and great granddaughter Londyn in Columbus, GA; Jennifer Gilbert, husband USAF E-5 Tobias Gilbert and great granddaughter Pure Griffin; grandsons Hurley Griffin and Zeek Gilbert at Shepherd AFB in Wichita Falls, TX; RN Morgan Statham in Omaha, NE; and Michael Alan Rowe, Jr in Hamilton, GA.
On the morning of 9/25/2020, her 86th birthday, Ruth was admitted into Erlanger Western Carolina Hospital with a broken hip. Dr. Purvis wonderfully repaired her hip and she began progessing nicely. She took a turn for the worst and Dr. Hall did everything possible but on the morning of 10/1/2020, Ruth and Glen's 65th wedding anniversary, Ruth was taken to glory by our Lord. Towards the end, their equality of life greatly declined, their love for each other, their family and friends and their community never declined.
Enough praise can't be said for the care, concern and compassion that all the Doctors, Nurses and staff provided Ruth in her final hours. Her cremains will be transported to her hometown of LaGrange, IL and distributed in the Morton Arboretum amongst the cremains of her father Dr. Edson Worth Carr, Chief Radiologist for McNeil Hospital in Berwyn, IL, her mother Rachel Leary Carr, Silent Theatre Organist and the first woman lifeguard in Chicago, Sisters Alma Jennings of Tinley Park, IL and Mary Nolan of LaGrange, IL.
Townson-Rose Funeral Home is in charge of all arrangements.
You may send tributes to the family at
www.townson-rose.com
