Ruth Long

Ruth Sharpe Long, age 95, died Saturday, September 12, 2009, at Autumn Care Nursing Home. A native and lifelong resident of Haywood County, she was the daughter of the late Albert and Emma Pressley Sharpe. She was preceded in death by her first husband, Lewis Smathers, who died in 1955, and her second husband, Charles Long, who died in 1992; and a sister, Lucille Cole. She retired from Champion International as a paper cutter and was of the Baptist Faith. Ruth enjoyed traveling to New Mexico and several other destinations across the United States. For many years, Ruth and her husband, Lewis, sold river rock to the State of North Carolina. She is survived by four daughters, Jane Romero and her husband, Alex, of Santa Fe, NM; Julia Wells and her husband, Ed, of Seattle, WA, and Patsy Smathers and Nellie Ruth Smathers of Dixon, MO; a brother, Charles Sharpe of Canton, 13 grandchildren; and several great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren. Funeral services will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Friday, September 18, 2009, at the Canton Chapel of Wells Funeral Home with the Reverend Doug Love and Dennis Cole officiating. Burial will follow at New Cruso Cemetery. The family will receive friends from 10:00 until 11:00 a.m. prior to the service at the funeral home. Memorials may be made to Center Pigeon First Responders, P. O. Box 875, Canton, NC 28716.

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