Ruth Hay McNabb

Ruth Hay McNabb, 89, died on Monday, July 13, 2015, at her home in Kingsport, Tennessee. Born on November 9, 1925, in Brownville Junction, Maine, she spent her early life there and on Scootic Lake before moving to Spencer, North Carolina with her family.

She was a 1943 graduate of Spencer High School and in 1947 graduated from Catawba College in Salisbury, North Carolina with a Bachelor of Science degree in Commerce. Following her graduation she moved to Kingsport to work as a secretary at Tennessee Eastman Company. In Kingsport, she met Harold Franklin McNabb and they were married on July 9, 1951. They settled in Kingsport and began raising their family.

Ruth was a devoted and active member of Mafair United Methodist Church. She taught Sunday School, led Circle Groups, and held Bible Studies for many years. She also served in a leadership capacity on committees throughout the church.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Harold Franklin McNabb; her parents, James Loudon Hay and Viola Crowe Hay; and sisters, Evelyn Hay Culton and Jean Hay Williams.

Survivors include one daughter, Nancy McNabb Burleson and her husband, Tom of Kingsport; son, Joseph Scott McNabb of Kingsport; sisters, Margaret McKenzie of Greensboro, North Carolina; Cathryn Vance and her husband of Wilfred, Charlotte, North Carolina; brother, James H. Hay and wife, Shirley of Winston Salem, North Carolina; brother-in-law, Ezra H. Williams of Kingsport; and four grandchildren, John Burleson, Jimmy Burleson, Cayla McNabb, and Caden McNabb, all of Kingsport.

The visitation will take place from 12-2:00 pm on Friday, July 17, 2015, at Mafair United Methodist Church in Kingsport. The funeral service will be at 2:00 pm with Rev. Kim Goddard officiating. Burial will follow in East Lawn Memorial Park.

If desired, contributions can be made to Mafair United Methodist Church, 1409 E. Center Street, Kingsport, TN 37664.

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