Ruth Loretta Gilders

Ruth Loretta Gilders passed away December 24, 2011 in Bowling Green, Ohio. She was 94. She was born on July 5, 1917 in Perrysburg Township to Charles and Daisy Marriott Wygant. On October 22, 1937, she married William E. Gilders in the First Presbyterian Church of Perrysburg. Mrs. Gilders was a graduate of Perrysburg High School and the Bowling Green School of Nursing. She worked as a practical nurse for the Arbors in Waterville and Lake Park in Sylvania. Mrs. Gilders was a member of the First United Methodist Church in Perrysburg. She was past-president of the church’s Woman’s Society, a former MYF leader, a member of the Wood County Historical and Genealogical Society, First Families of Wood County, and First Families of Ohio. She traveled extensively throughout the United States and Europe, was interested in antiques, and was an accomplished quilter. She is survived by her children: Judith (Jeffrey) McKnight; William D. (Susan Welsh) Gilders; Susan (Peter) Deist; granddaughter: Jenna (Timothy) Winters; grandson: Todd (Shannon Kitchen)Brown; great-grandchildren: Taylor McKnight; Bailey (Walter) Myers; Timothy McKnight; Blaize McKnight; and Kestrel, Chayton, and Cooper Winters ; great-great -grandsons Gage William and Riley Robert, and James Myers, and great-great-granddaughter Emily Ruth; sister: Letty (Lawrence) Schwind; and sister-in-law: Thelma (Charles) Wygant. She was preceded in death by her husband, a granddaughter Jana McKnight Caldwell, and five brothers and sisters. Friends and family will be received from 10-11 A.M. Thursday, December 29, 2011 at the Witzler-Shank Funeral Home, where funeral services will be held following the visitation at 11 A.M. with Pastor Gary Rode officiating. Burial will be held privately at Fort Meigs Union Cemetery. The family requests that memorials be made to the American Cancer Society.