Born: 1947, Newcastle, Indiana
Died: 2015 Springfield, Missouri, Age 67
Ruth was born to Fred Paul Buckels, Jr. and Genevieve Marcelle Hoffman Buckels on June 20th, 1947. She was the oldest of five siblings: Susan Buckels Wason , Steven Buckels , Linda Buckels Locke , and James Buckels. Ruth devoted her life to education. After earning her Master’s degree in education she taught students of all ages for over four decades. She was a passionate advocate for literacy and spent most of her career helping underprivileged children to achieve an education. When not in the classroom, Ruth enjoyed sewing and picking up seashells at the beach. She is survived by her children: Amber Henslee Henson (born 1976), Erin Henslee Peterson (born 1977), and Evan Henslee (born 1981), as well as her grandchildren: Erin Elaine Henson (born 2009) and Malin Marcelle Peterson (born 2012). Services will be held at Asbury United Methodist Church (1500 S. Campbell, Springfield, MO) on Thursday, May 14th. Visitation will begin at 2pm and the Funeral service will begin at 3pm. The family requests that in lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Reading Is Fundamental (http://readingisfundamental.org/us/donate/ways-to-give.htm.