Ruth Ensley of Colony, whose death on Thursday and funeral services were published in Monday’s Register, was born Nov. 28, 1920, in Sioux City, Iowa, to Daniel Webster and Clarabelle (Morgan) Swender. She graduated from Kincaid High School. She received her teaching certificate from Emporia State University.
On Dec. 25, 1940, she married Gordon Murray Ensley in Kincaid.
She was the bookkeeper for the family construction and farming business for many years while living in Anderson and Allen counties. Summers were filled with visits from nieces and nephews, farming activities, hauling hay, driving tractors and spending time swimming in the quarry. She liked to travel and take photographs. She traveled throughout the United States with her husband for many years and retired in Colony to be close to family and friends.
She was a member of Colony Community Church. Although the couple moved frequently, she was always active in the local church and community. She was a children’s choir director, Sunday school leader and filled in when and where needed.
She is survived by a son, Gordon Lawrence and his wife, Pauline, Lakeview, Ore.; two daughters, Brenda Thexton and her husband, Richard, Stella, Mo., and Susan Mills and her husband, James, Arkansas City; 15 grandchildren; 55 great-grandchildren; three great-great-grandchildren; sister-in-law, Lois Swender, Park City; and a brother-in-law, Tom Ensley and his wife, Maxine, Colony.
Her husband died June 29, 2008, and a daughter, Marita McDiffett, seven brothers and one sister died earlier.
Ruth Ensley
