Ruth Marie (English) Tennyson died Jan. 10, 2012, in Tulsa.

Her services will be 10 a.m. Friday at Walker Funeral Service Chapel with Ray Belford officiating. Burial will follow in Fairview Cemetery under the direction of Walker Funeral Service. The family will be at the funeral home from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday to visit with friends and family.

Ruth was born Oct. 6, 1919, on the family farm in Lima, Ohio, to Rose and F.L. English. She was the youngest of eight children. She moved to Oklahoma as an infant and attended schools in Tecumseh. She was a proud alumnus of Tecumseh High School, class of 1939. She attended East Central University, Oklahoma University and Oklahoma Baptist University, majoring in home economics.

She married her high school sweetheart Leroy W. Tennyson on June 25, 1944. Together they reared three daughters, Suzanne, Debbie and Shellie.

She was employed as a bookkeeper for OTASCO for many years. She was an active member of the First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) until her health began to fail after a stroke in 2008. She moved to Sapulpa to live with her daughter Debbie until her death.

She was predeceased by her husband, Leroy, in 2000, also her parents and all seven brothers and sisters.

She is survived by daughters and sons-in-law, Suzanne (Michael) Haynes of Martinez, Georgia, Debbie (Chris) Tennyson-Carlton of Sapulpa, and Shellie (Doug) Fitch of Lamont; 10 grandchildren, Patrick (Stacie) Haynes, Katie Haynes, Lauren (Luke) Dorman, Jenna (Prem) Shetty, Heather (Dale) Bledsoe, Erin Hill, Kemper T. Hill, Megan Hill, Tyler T. Carlton and Sarah T. Carlton; and five delightful, adored great-grandchildren, Braden and Brice Bledsoe, Mary Alice and Lily Haynes and Piper Hill, as well as two sisters-in-law, Peggy Harp of Shawnee and Norma Jean Crosslin of Indianapolis, and a host of beloved nieces, nephews and greats.

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