Ruth Whiting Culbreth
June 24, 1931 – December 17, 2015
Funeral services for Ruth Whiting Culbreth, 84, of Cairo, GA, are at 2:00 p.m., Saturday, December 19, 2015, at First United Methodist Church of Cairo, GA. Rev. Whit Byram will officiate. Services will conclude at the church. Private interment will be in Greenwood Cemetery, Cairo, GA. Mrs. Culbreth passed away at Archbold Memorial Hospital in Thomasville, GA, on Thursday, December 17, 2015.
Mrs. Culbreth was born on June 24, 1931, in Camilla, GA. She was one of nine children born to the late Julian Deming Whiting and Helen Kathleeen Acree Whiting. She was an honor graduate and valedictorian of Camilla High School. She received her BA degree in French from Agnes Scott College in 1952. While attending Agnes Scott, she was a member of the May Court for 3 of the 4 years she attended. She was chairman of the Lecture Association and had the privilege of sitting at the dining table with two prominent literary figures, Robert Frost and Pearl S. Buck. During the summers she lived in Baltimore, MD, with her sister, Rebecca, and worked for the Hecht Company to earn money for her education.
On July 19, 1953, she married Rev. Charles Augustus Culbreth, Jr., who preceded her in death on March 3, 2012. They were united in marriage by her brother, Rev. Tom Whiting. After marrying Brother Charlie, she spent her life supporting him and the Methodist churches he pastored, raising her two sons, and in her own way, ministering to those whose path crossed hers. They watched the Passion Play in Oberammergau, Germany and traveled throughout Europe together.
As a mother, grandmother, and great grandmother, she was the best! She loved and was most proud of her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. For her, they were her greatest accomplishments. No better role model will you ever find. Ruth was strong in her faith and love for god and for her family. Never a cross word did she speak, and many found her as someone to go to for support. She was a beautiful person inside and out. She is best described as a great listener, sweet and kind, gentle, compassionate and a silent servant in Christian faith. She was a homemaker and member of the First United Methodist Church of Cairo.
Survivors include: sons, Charles A. “Chip” Culbreth III (Denise) of Thomasville, GA; Scott A. Culbreth (Jennifer) of Kinston, N.C.; grandchildren, Drew Culbreth of Nashville, TN; Jay Culbreth (Jackie) of Englewood, FL, Kaitlyn Roberts of Decatur, GA, Logan Roberts of Valdosta, GA, Mollie Conner (Doug) of Kinston, NC, Sarah Place (Lawrence) of Palo Alto, CA, Paige Culbreth of Brooklyn, NY; great-grandchildren, Emma Conner of Kinston, NC, Addie Place of Palo Alto, CA; sisters, Florence W. Findlay of Orlando, FL, Eunice W. Bryanton of Las Vegas, NV; brothers-in-law, Paul Jones of Maryland, Chuck Fish of Alpharetta, GA.
She was preceded in death by: her parents; husband; sisters, Gladys W. Glenn, Rebecca W. Jones, Julianne W. Fish; and brothers, Rev. Tom Whiting, George Leyton Whiting, Julian Deming Whiting.
Memorials may be made in Mrs. Culbreth’s memory to: First United Methodist Church, 318 South Broad St., Cairo, GA 39828; Epworth By The Sea, P.O. Box 20407, St. Simons Island, GA 31522; Magnolia Manor, The League of Good Samaritan, 2001 S. Lee Street, Americus, GA 31709.
The family will receive friends at the First United Methodist Church immediately following the funeral service.
