Mary Ruth Duncan

Ruth Duncan, 91, of Poplar Bluff, Missouri, passed away peacefully on Monday, March 9, 2026, at her home after a brief illness.

Born Mary Ruth Tindall on May 2, 1934, to Otto and Floy (Mahan) Tindall, she was the youngest of seven children and the only girl. She grew up with her older brothers on a farm in Rabbit Ridge, Arkansas, where she learned to chop cotton, milk cows, cook on a wood stove, and iron her brothers’ shirts with an 18-pound hand iron. Ruth often recalled learning her numbers by counting the strokes while she churned butter.

She attended public school in Van Buren County, Arkansas, where her gift for conversation and playful spirit quickly became evident. She loved to talk, joke, and share pranks with her friends, cousins, and especially her niece Dean Tindall, who was just two years younger and felt more like a sister. Ruth met her future husband, Leland Duncan, when he was the bus monitor who once reported her for being too loud and rowdy on the school bus. She apparently forgave him, because on May 28, 1952, they married, beginning a loving journey together that lasted 72 and a half years.

After Leland’s Army service, the couple settled in North Little Rock, Arkansas, where Ruth worked at the Jackson Cookie Company until their children arrived. When Leland was called to the ministry, Ruth embraced the role of pastor’s wife, serving faithfully alongside him for 13 years at churches in Indiana, Arkansas, Kentucky, and finally Poplar Bluff. She later worked in sales, a natural fit for her warm, outgoing personality and genuine interest in others. She sold Luzier cosmetics, shoes, and clothing, and for many years was a beloved salesclerk at Roth’s Department Store, where her boss once said she could “sell snow to an Eskimo.”

Ruth remained strong in her Christian faith throughout her life. A charter member of Fellowship General Baptist Church, she was active in Women’s Missions and made a special effort to welcome visitors. She was a devoted mother to her sons, Wally and Greg, and later took great joy in her grandchildren and great-grandchildren, who affectionately called her “GG-Ma.” She became known for her baking, especially her strawberry pie, chocolate sheet cake, Amish bread, and legendary peanut brittle, which she happily made and shared by the hundreds over the years.

Ruth was preceded in death by her husband, Leland; an infant son, David Warren Duncan; her parents; and all six of her brothers: Milburn, Quinton (Bill), Ray, Glenn, Hayes, and Gene Tindall. She is survived by her sons, Wally (Kathy) Duncan of Poplar Bluff, Missouri, and Greg (Mariela) Duncan of Phuket, Thailand; five grandchildren, Eric (Cristina) Duncan, Natalie (Ben) Gunning, Nicole (Andrew) Hewitt, Sophie Duncan, and Alex Duncan; four great-grandchildren, Connor Duncan, Everleigh Hewitt, Axel Gunning, and Ruby Gunning; along with numerous nieces, nephews, and many dear friends.