Ruth Werner Obituary

08/19/1943 - 02/16/2025
Ruth Mary (nee Dixey) Werner, 81, passed away peacefully in her home on Sunday. Beloved wife of the late Robert H. Werner, beloved mother to Robert K, Adam T (1968-1994), Curt A
(the late Jeanne) and Ruth D. Fortino (Frank). Grandmother (mom-mom) to Frankie, Willow, Tammy (Orlando), John (Julie) and great grandmother to Mikey, Kylee, Giana, Caleb and Frankie.

Ruth was raised, in the Kensington area of Philadelphia, by her mother, Laura Rose Maier and her Aunt Bess when her father, William Noble, died when she was five. She is survived by her sisters, Laura Naomi Fornaciari (Charlie) and Dorothy Louise Trout (the late Harry). Ruth was preceded in death by her besties Miriam Solter and Claire Hohlfeld, and by her furry
companion, Sasha.

Ruth met her husband, Bob (the love of her life), when she was 16. He was 19, and in the Navy. They married when she turned 18, after she graduated from Jules E. Mastbaum High School, class of 1961. Ruth and Bob started their family in 1963, buying a house on the 600 block of Clementine Street, around the corner from where she grew up. They raised four kids and lived
in Kensington until 1995 when they moved to the Somerton area of Philly.

With her kids half grown, Ruth went back to school to work in the medical field as an MA. She loved medicine and made lasting friends from that time. But her true, lifelong love and joy was
singing. Starting from the choir at Trinity Reformed Episcopalian Church (F St and Allegheny Ave) where she was baptized, to all the other churches she attended throughout the years and then moving into singing groups like the Sweet Adeline’s, barbershop quartets, quartets with friends, and for many years the Bucks County Women’s chorus. She absolutely loved being a
part of the BCWC, traveling and singing her way through the world, from country to country, with other amazing women she admired and called friends.

Diagnosed in 2018, Ruth suffered from dementia; the last 18 months being particularly difficult. Ruth will be deeply missed by all who knew her; perhaps the most by, Twoface, the family
companion, whom she would feed at the table, even though she wasn’t supposed to.

As with all life, there were rough times, but Ruth will be remembered for her genuine kindness, her singing, her smile, her sense of humor, and that no matter the hardship, she could find a
smile or compliment for others, and she could always see a silver lining. The silver lining for those left behind is that she passed on her favorite day, Sunday, the day she got to go to
church, right up to the end, and that she is at peace and with the people she loves who have gone before her.

Even during the worst of her disease, when she forgot names, places and faces, when asked, “Do you know my name?” She’d say, “No. But I know I love you.”

In lieu of flowers, please donate in Ruth’s name to the Somerton United Methodist Church Liberian Education Fund (13073 Bustleton Ave), a project dear to her heart.
Ruth’s family will have a “Celebration of Life” ceremony in spring of 2025 at Somerton United Methodist Church.