Ruth Kennedy 1908 - 2007

Ruth Harriet Wingfield Kennedy died Nov. 1, 2007. She was born Nov. 15, 1908, in Camp Verde to David Wingfield and Jennie Munds, both of pioneer Arizona ranching families.

As a young girl she spent long days on horseback with her father and helped trail their cattle to range on the Mogollon Rim. With her parents' encouragement, she developed a love of English literature and music which would be with her all of her life. She played piano when silent movies were shown in the small community.

Following in the footsteps of her mother, she attended Arizona State Teachers College in Tempe, and then went on to graduate from the University of Arizona in 1930. She taught high school briefly in Snowflake, leaving to marry Clarence E. "Hy" Kennedy in 1931. They lived in Prescott, where Ruth served as deputy county school superintendent. As the Depression deepened, the couple moved to Phoenix, where they got into the cattle business and started a family.

In the late "40s they acquired the Lost Eden Ranch near Clint's Well atop the Mogollon Rim, where she would spend her summers for the next 50 years. The couple wintered in Phoenix, where she taught for several years at Westwood School.

She was active in the Roosevelt Women's Club, Laveen Cowbells, Camelback Cowbells, Tall Pines Farm Bureau, Phoenix Republican Women's Club, the Wingfield Society and First Families of Arizona.

She is survived by daughters Joanne Wochner of Phoenix and Mary Pyles of San Diego; son David of Phoenix; eight grandchildren, three great-grandchildren and her brother, Kenneth Wingfield of Clarkdale.

A memorial service is scheduled for Dec. 2 at 1:30 p.m., Central United Methodist Church, 1875 N. Central Avenue, Phoenix. The family requests donations in lieu of flowers to: Arizona Cattle Industry Research and Education Foundation, 1401 N. 24th St., #4, Phoenix AZ 85008 or Hospice of the Valley, ATTN: Donation Department, 1501 E. Flower St., Phoenix AZ 85014.