Ruth Smith

Ruth Smith, 93, of Freeport, passed away peacefully on March 7, 2026, surrounded by her loving family and her WinnPrairie family.

Born on September 26, 1932, in Macomb, Illinois, to immigrant parents Rose and Robert Neuneker, Ruth met her future husband, Duane, at Western Illinois University while studying to become a Home Economics teacher. They married in 1955 and built a life together centered on faith, family, and community. After Duane began his teaching career in Freeport, they raised their family there, first in a little red house on Bellaire Street before moving in 1962 to their beloved big old house on Mill Street in Cedarville, where they created a lifetime of memories while raising their five children.

Ruth worked at the Freeport Public Library when her children were young and later taught for many years in the Home Economics Department at Freeport’s middle and high schools. She took special delight in the football players who visited her classroom hoping “Ms. Smith” had extra treats baking. At just 5-foot-1, she was often enveloped in grateful hugs from those big, hungry boys with crumbs still on their chins. She remained deeply involved for many years with her local P.E.O. chapter, St. Thomas Auxiliary, and the Cedarville Historical Society, where her steady hands and generous heart helped make countless salad luncheons, soup suppers, and cookie walks possible.

Ruth found deep joy in simple things—quilts and pretty fabrics, cooking, family reunions, visits from children and grandchildren, hummingbirds, genealogy, March Madness basketball, rhubarb pie, and chocolate. She especially cherished spring drives with Duane to see the first blooms at Oakdale or Krape Park. What stood out most was her ability to live fully in the present with quiet contentment. The everyday work of caring for her family never seemed a burden; her pride could be seen in a neat stack of clean laundry, heard in the Chicago Cubs game playing on the radio as she ironed, and felt in the meals she prepared to share with others.

Ruth and Duane shared 68 beautiful years of marriage until his passing in 2023. She is lovingly remembered by her five children and their families: Mark (Lavinda) of Bettendorf, Iowa; Brad (Rebecca) of DeKalb, Illinois; Matt (Francesca) of LaGrange, Illinois; Paula Charron (Mike) of Genoa, Wisconsin; and Martha Martin (Doug) of Verona, Wisconsin; ten grandchildren; five great-grandchildren, with another little one soon to arrive; and many dear in-laws, nieces, and nephews. She was preceded in death by her parents and her siblings, Robert, Max, and Rose Neuneker. Her children remain deeply grateful for the extraordinary love and care given to both of their parents by the WinnPrairie team and for the gentle support of Hospice.