Ruth Marie Butler McNeil's Obituary
Ruth Marie Butler was born on April 1, 1916 in Floydada, Texas to Frank and Ruth Butler. She passed away August 5, 2011 in Plano, Texas. Ruth was the eldest child of four sisters and two brothers. They lived in Plainview, and then Amarillo, Texas where Ruth graduated from Amarillo High School in 1934 and Amarillo Junior College. In 1935 she married George Robert McNeil. They had 3 children – Frank, Janet and Lee. Music was always a part of Ruth’s life. She sang in a women’s barbershop group, the Chansonettes, for many years, and regularly attended music events in Amarillo. Ruth entered the business world as a travel agent for the Triple-A Travel office in Amarillo in 1960 – continuing some 26 years until her retirement at the age of 70. During those years she was fortunate to travel all over the world as a travel agent for numbers of individuals and large groups – to places such as Africa, Great Britain, Germany, Spain, Italy, and China. She was active in the First Presbyterian Church in Amarillo – especially the adult choir and hand bell organizations. She served as an elder and Deacon for many years at First Presbyterian. After being the primary care giver for her mother – who died at the age of 102, she relocated to Garland in 1995. She moved to the Appletree Assisted living facility in 2003 and the Life Care Center of Plano in 2007. Ruth was predeceased by her parents, two brothers, two sisters, and her beloved husband Robert. She is survived by her sister, Helen; son and daughter-in-law, Frank and Ruth McNeil; daughter and son-in-law, Janet and Ken Dugger, son and daughter-in-law, Lee and Wendy McNeil; grandchildren, Robert McNeil, Anita Harrill, Marti Hicks, Denise Tidwell, Alan Dugger, David Dugger, Sheena Henderson, Cameron McNeil, Logan McNeil, and Taylor McNeil; 15 great-grandchildren; and 2 great-great-grandchildren.
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