Ruth B. Peters

Ruth B. Peters (nee Ruth Anna Blandin), 98, formerly of Enon, OH, passed away peacefully on November 4, 2026. Ruth was born July 4, 1928, to Grant and Mamie Blandin in Hermon, NY. Her parents and grandma didn’t expect her to survive because she was so small, but she was a firecracker and surprised them all. She lived many great years!

Ruth is survived by her four daughters, Karen Evans, Joanne (Stan) Thompson, Darlene (Tim) Knapp, and Nikki McLaughlin; twelve grandchildren, Katie, Diana, Sarah, Teresa, Kelly, Andi, Joe, Louie, Josh, Sam, Matt, and Dan; twenty-four great grandchildren; and numerous nieces, nephews, friends, and loved ones. She is preceded in death by her parents; husband, Joseph A. Peters (Guiseppi Angelo Pietrefesa); sisters Margaret, Olive, and Vivian; as well as numerous other relatives.

Ruth saw the world change dramatically in her 98 years. Ruth grew up on a 145-acre dairy farm, where they did not have electricity or indoor plumbing, and she regularly helped with milking cows and harvesting syrup. She did not want to live on a farm and education was very important to her; luckily, her father supported her goals. She graduated second in her class from Hermon High in 1945 and then graduated from Potsdam State Teachers College.

After college, Ruth moved to Rome, NY, where she was a school teacher for several years. In 1952, she married Joe and in the mid-1960s, they moved to Enon when Joe was transferred to Wright Patt Air Force Base.

Ruth enjoyed giving back to her community. She held various service roles throughout her life: school room mother, Enon-Indian Valley PTO President, President of the Enon Softball League, Enon City Council member for 20 years, President of George Rogers Clark Heritage Association (GRCHA), Chairperson of Education Day for the Fair at New Boston (Fair), Oral History chairman of the Enon Community Historical Society and charter member and secretary of the Friends of the Clark County Park District. In a book about her life, she said the following about serving on Enon Council: “I felt I had made a difference in changing the village from a ‘good ole boys’ club to a progressive government.” In addition to her volunteer work, she was also a journalist for the Fairborn Daily Herald, where she wrote about local events. Ruth was the recipient of numerous community awards, accolades, and recognitions.

Her involvement with GRCHA and the Fair was extensive and extended to her family – at some point, most of her grandkids were wearing late 18th century attire to march in the 4th of July parade or to monger goods at the Fair. For some of those grandkids, this had a lasting, life-long impact.

Her love for family and history came out in her genealogy work. She was so excited when she finally traced her family line back to royalty! Several years ago, she wrote a short book called “The Lives of Ruth and Joe,” which she had printed and bound for each grandchild.

Until sometime in her 80s, Ruth hosted her entire family in her home for holidays – at one point hand making over 80 manicotti for Christmas dinner. Ruth was not Italian, but she married into an Italian family and had to learn to cook like one!

In 2019, Ruth left her house in Enon to move to One Lincoln Park in Kettering, OH, where she made many new friends and enjoyed some of the various Activity Programs, her very favorites being “Tunes with Tony”, and “Trivia with Tony”.

Ruth’s impact on her family is hard to put into words, but these last couple of weeks have demonstrated her impact. For 10 straight days while Ruth was in the hospital, her family provided 24/7 support – someone was always there, just like she was always there for her family – whether they needed a meal, a place to live, money, babysitting, or some help with a sewing project – and she instilled that priority in her children and grandchildren. She will be dearly missed.

A funeral service will be held on Monday November 9, 2026 at 12 noon at the Belton-Stroup Funeral Home, 422 E. Dayton-Yellow Springs Rd., Fairborn.  The family will receive friends from 10:00 am until the time of service.  Ruth will be laid to rest at Byron Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Planned Parenthood https://www.plannedparenthood.org/planned-parenthood-southwest-ohio or

Breast Wishes Foundation https://www.breastwishes.org/