Ruth Kathryn (Shaw) Sell was born May 6, 1930, at Brownsville, Illinois to Claud and Nellie (Story) Shaw. She attended Brockett School (a one-room school) then went to Carmi Township High School. She married Alvin Roy Sell on June 11, 1950. The lived on a farm at Epworth, Illinois. Ruth worked as a cook at Big Prairie, Washington, and Lincoln Schools. She and Alvin were both active members of McHenry Methodist Church. She was the organist for 72 years. Her church singing group, the McHenry Good News Singers, at one time, went to 7 nursing homes a month. Ruth would accompany the group playing the accordion.
Alvin died October 6, 2006. Ruth continued to live at the farm util May 2020, when she moved to the Garden Apartments by Wabash Christina Retirement. She enjoyed Bible Study and visiting with her neighbors Mary Lou Armstrong and Ida Wilson. They were all three the same age. Even after she lost her eyesight, she still made hundreds of bracelets for Franklin Graham’s Operation Christmas Boxes. The most important thing Ruth will be remembered for is her love of the Lord and her faithful prayer life. She prayed for her family by name every day.
Alvin and Ruth had three children, Marsha Ruth, who married Mike Moye and moved to Cottonwood, Illinois; Sandra Kay, who married Dwayne Roser and lived at Albion, Illinois, and later moved to the family farm near Enfield, Illinois; and Mike Sell who married Donna Mayhue and lives close to Brownsville, Illinois.
Alvin and Ruth both loved to garden and most of their lives had two large gardens. They canned lots of fruits and vegetables and shared them with friends. Later in life, Alvin and Ruth bought a motorhome. They lived taking it to Dolan’s Lake or Mike Sell’s pond. The motorhome pulled out very few times without some of the grandkids going along. They made lots of special memories for the grandkids. They loved to fish with grandpa and every time one of the grandkids would go into the camper and they would look in the stove oven to make sure Grandma Ruth had brought along their favorite banana cake. She loved to sew and do crafts and she usually had some craft along for the grandkids to work on in the camper.
Ruth is survived by her three children and their spouses, Marsha and Mike Moye, Kay and Dwayne Roser, and Mike and Donna Sell; four grandchildren, Joseph (Ashley) Moye, Jonathan Moye (Stephanie Nepvue, Timothy (Angela) Roser, Katie (Jake) Duvall; 14 great-grandchildren, Eli and Claire Moye; Abe, Daisy, Zeke, Promiss, Debo, Naomi, Elsie, Ben and Flossie Roser; Beckett, Cole, and Dawson Duvall; and Ruth’s sister Claudine Sell.
She is preceded in death by her parents; husband, Alvin; and two grandchildren Cristie and Anthony Roser.
Visitation and funeral are Thursday, July 13, 2023, at Cook Funeral Chapel in Carmi, Illinois. Visitation is at 10 am, and funeral is at noon. Burial is in Kuykendall Cemetery near Carmi, Illinois.
Memorials may be made to White County Senior Citizens and will be accepted at Cook Funeral Chapel.
