Ruth C. Kirchner

Ruth Kirchner, 95, passed from this life to her Heavenly Home on Wednesday, June 12, 2024, at her home in Lima. 

She was born on September 27, 1928, in Allensville, Pennsylvania to the late David M. and Mable (Phillips) Zook. She was a graduate of West Liberty High School, in the class of 1946. She met her husband-to-be, Clarence “Larry” Kirchner at Ft. Wayne Bible College, where they were both enrolled. They graduated on the morning of June 2, 1950 and were then married that afternoon in the chapel of the school. Thay had been married 50 years when Larry was called home on December 26, 2000.

Ruth worked for several years at St. Rita’s Medical Center as a medical transcriptionist, which led to the position of office manager in the practice of Dr. Robert D. Biggs M.D, where she worked for 20 years until her retirement. She also served faithfully alongside her husband in the churches he pastored. Ruth loved and honored her Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. In recent years she has been a member of Bluelick Bible Church.

She is survived by three daughters: Cathy (David) Rufener of Lima, Becky Kirchner of Lima, and Vicki (Larry) Thomas of Greenfield, IN; five grandsons: Benjamin (Renae) Richard, Nathan (Amanda) Richard, Jonathan (Cara) Thomas, Joel (Heather) Thomas, and Jared Thomas; eight great-grandsons and four great-granddaughters. She is also survived by two sisters, Zelda (Roy) Keeran and Donna (Joel) Lehman, both of West Liberty; and one brother, Thomas (Jean) Zook of Asheville, NC. 

She was preceded in death by a young sister, Sara Zook; baby brother, Robert Zook; brothers, John Zook and Gerald Zook; and son-in-law, Thomas Richard.

Somewhere along the way she had read the following words, and she left them on a scrap of paper on her desk: “I’ve been blessed with enough years for my hair to turn gray and for the laughter of my youth to become deep lines on my face. Many never get to laugh this much, and others never get to turn gray. I am very blessed.” Ruth loved God’s Word, and one of her favorite Scriptures is John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life.”

The family will receive friends from 9:30 – 11:00 a.m. on Wednesday, June 19, 2024, at Bluelick Bible Church, Lima, Ohio. The funeral service will follow at 11:00 a.m. Pastor Jason Knight and Larry Thomas will officiate. Burial will follow at Wesley Chapel Cemetery, Lima. 

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Bluelick Bible Church Mission Fund.

 Arrangements handled by Chamberlain-Huckeriede Funeral Home. Condolences may be expressed at www.chamberlainhuckeriede.com.