Mary Ruth Talton (née Wade), known to all who loved her as Ruth, entered the presence of Almighty God on September 26th, 2026, at the age of 93. Her life, from her first cry on August 4th, 1933, to her final breath in Tulsa, Oklahoma, was held in the sovereign and steadfast hands of her loving, kind, and gracious Savior.

Ruth was raised in Mansfield, Arkansas, and attended Mansfield High School. She was an outstanding basketball player and enjoyed cheering her brother on in football. She married the love of her life Cullen A. Talton on May 26th, 1950 . To their union, the Lord was pleased to add Ashley Talton in 1952 and Teresa Goff (née Talton) in 1955. Ruth and Cullen's twenty-eight-year marriage carried them from Arkansas to California to Austin, Texas then to Norman, Muskogee, and Tulsa, Oklahoma. While in Muskogee, Oklahoma, Ruth and Cullen operated A.R. Pharmacy before settling in Tulsa, Oklahoma and later purchasing Harvard Drug. After Cullen's death in 1978 she worked as a manager for Eckerd Drug for a number of years and later operated Dumplings Restaurant with her sister Gay Winslow and brother-in-law Tom Winslow.

Ruth was not a woman who sought recognition, and by her own reckoning, she had no great career of which to speak. But those who knew her would say otherwise. Her true vocation was love poured out continuously in quiet, ordinary, and unglamorous ways. She loved all generations of her close knit family , kept track of all of them and prayed for all of them.

Known for her fried chicken , beans & cornbread, cakes & pies, she loved to cook. When not cooking she loved to read, entertain her grandchildren, and work a good puzzle. She loved a good joke and liked to share. Her grand children, nieces and nephews , great grand children and other family members looked forward to her birthday cards every year. She never forgot and always included a special gift to those who were younger. She was a member of Hope United Methodist formerly St. Matthews United Methodist Church for over 55 years

Above all, she loved to be present in the lives of those she loved from family events to grandchildren's sporting events and school programs to countless after-school pickups. . She loved sports and she was always competitive. She was a lifelong LA Dodgers fan and more recently a die-hard Kansas City Chiefs fan.

Her home was open to anyone who needed a place at the table and she had a particular gift for seeing and caring for people the world seemed to pass over. She was always an encourager. As one who knew her put it simply: "She loved me when I was most unlovable." That was Ruth. It was the grace and love of Christ, made visible in a humble woman.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Cullen A. Talton, her mother and father W. L.Wade & Eula Wade and her seven siblings: Eva Norried (née Wade), Lucille Duncan (née Wade), Opal Blackard (née Wade), Maggie Barton (née Wade), John Wade, Gay Winslow (née Wade), and William Clem Wade. She was also preceded in death by her second husband Glen Jackson.

She is survived by her son, Ashley Talton, and his wife Jackie; their children Aaron Talton (Katie), Jessica Buono (née Talton) (Alex), and Austin Talton (Brooke); and her great-grandchildren Lucas Talton, Callan Talton, Wyatt Talton, Peter Buono, Penelope Buono, Henry Talton, Waite Talton, Ivy Talton, and Hudson Talton. She is survived by her daughter, Teresa Goff (née Talton), and her husband James, and Teresa's son, Adam Forrester. She is also survived her sister-in-law Dena Wade and brother-in-law Tom Winslow and by numerous nieces and nephews and their spouses and their families

Ruth will be sorely missed, but her impact will live on through the generations that follow her.

Her faith in Christ was the foundation and core of her life. Her confidence was never in her own goodness but in the finished work of Christ and the unshakable purposes of a sovereign God - the same God who ordained her days from Arch, New Mexico to Tulsa, Oklahoma and who has now brought her safely home. Having been transformed by God's grace, she demonstrated the fruit of that grace through a lifetime of quiet service, hospitality, generosity, love, and presence. Ruth's family rejoices that she is now reunited with Cullen and resting in the presence of Christ, the Savior who ordained all her days before one of them came to be.

A viewing will be held in Tulsa, Oklahoma on October 1st, 2026. Under the care of Moore Southlawn Funeral Home, Ruth will be laid to rest on October 2nd, 2026, in Mansfield, Arkansas, in the hopeful expectation of her resurrection and the life of the age to come.