Gwendlyn Ruth Flickinger was born in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, Canada, November 12, 1933. She married Lyle Smith on March 15, 1953. He preceded her in death. Ruth and Lyle had four daughters: Christina Della Nebbia, Debra Weatherl with husband Steve, Lori Smith with husband Scott Beckman, Lisa Sutton with husband Brian. She also leaves behind 17 grandchildren and numerous nieces and nephews. Ruth had three sisters: Shirley Caley and Linda Faust, who preceded her in death; and Kathy with husband Gary Myers from Waterloo, Iowa.

Five years after the death of her first husband, Lyle, she married Jim VerHoef in 1977. Jim also preceded her in death. Ruth and Jim loved to travel and visited every state in the union, plus Canada, Mexico and Italy. Ruth commented that she first fell in love with God, the Creator and this was reflected in her love of the outdoors including hiking, canoeing, skiing and camping. She didn’t mind sleeping in a tent or a trailer to spend time in nature with the Lord. Oftentimes, her children and grandchildren accompanied her on these trips to the Grand Canyon, the piney woods of East Texas, the Colorado mountains or to the beach down the street from her home in Portland, Texas, as well as many other destinations.

She loved music and sang in the choir at each Methodist Church to which she belonged. She also soloed at band concerts and sang at weddings. She taught herself to play the guitar so that she could accompany singing for canoe trips in Canada, Volunteers in Mission trips to natural disaster areas (with the Methodist Church) and family gatherings in the living room at home.

After losing her husband, Lyle, Ruth went to school and trained to be a florist. She worked with life-long friends at a nursery in Burlington, Iowa. She was quite accomplished at this profession and even arranged flowers for some of her daughters' weddings (ruining her own refrigerator in the process!)

Besides Volunteers in Mission, she held various offices within the Methodist Church. She was also a counselor for 15 years at an adventure camp, Canoe Canada, leaving for a week at a time into the Canadian Boundary Waters wilderness! She loved teaching Sunday School, traveling, snow skiing, camping, reading and visiting her many friends. Her greatest joy was her children and grandchildren.

A Celebration of Life ceremony was held on Saturday, February 21, 2026, at First United Methodist Church in Bastrop, Texas. Ruth will be inurned at Fairview Cemetery of Cedar Falls in a private family service.