Ruth Barbe, 100, Bunkie
A Mass of Christian Burial will be offered for Ruth Neave Barbe on Saturday, June 19, 2021 at 11:00 a.m. at St. Anthony of Padua Catholic Church with Rev. Stephen Scott Chemino, V.G. officiating. Burial will be in the Pythian Cemetery under the direction of Melancon Funeral Home, Bunkie.
Ruth Neave Barbe, age 100, of Bunkie, passed away on Wednesday, June 16, 2021 at CHRISTUS St. Frances Cabrini Hospital. She was born September 3, 1920 in Parkstone, England and resided in Bunkie for 73 years. She was preceded in death by her husband of 57 years, Prosper Barbe and their son, Jules Barbe.
Ruth began training as a seamstress at 14 years of age which started her career as an upholsterer. WWII broke out in England on her 19th birthday. With her training, she was conscripted to serve at a plant producing military gliders that were large enough to carry a small tank and its crew. She also worked assisting in the wiring and testing of landing crafts used in the war effort. One of the major staging areas for U.S. troops in England during WWII was very near her home. That is where she met her beloved Prosper. After the war, she moved to Bunkie where they were married in 1949. She and Prosper raised their children in Bunkie.
She loved knitting Christmas ornaments and teddy bears, working the daily suduko and jumble puzzles, playing board and card games (she was extremely competitive!), working large jigsaw puzzles and had written in her daily journal for over thirty years. Having spent the majority of her life in the US, she remained true to her English heritage and often reminisced of her early life in England. She loved making Christmas mince meat pies, Yorkshire puddings, weekly conversations with her sister about their life in England and receiving packages that were filled with English candy and goods.
Those remaining to cherish her life include her sister: Nan Thompson of Bexhill By the Sea, England; her three daughters: Sheila Giles of Houston, TX; Betty (Buddy) Muse of McLoud, OK; Sarah (Matt) Martin of Glenmora, LA; and her son: Jodie (Robin) Barbe of Bellaire, TX; her seven grandchildren: Matt Martin,III, Jeremy Martin, John Martin, Jennifer Morrison, Aaron Martin, Ryan Barbe, Jerald Barbe; her eight great grand children and many nephews and nieces around the world.
Memorials in honor of Ruth Barbe may be made to St. Anthony Catholic School - 116 S. Knoll Ave.- Bunkie, LA 71322 or the donor's favorite charity.