Ruthalee Dunkin Clement's Obituary
Ruthalee Vertilla (Lindsey) Dunkin Clement, daughter of Ray Neil and Nora Alice Marshall Lindsey, was born June 20, 1928, near Springfield, Missouri. She departed this life Monday, June 11, 2007, in Cox Medical Center South, in Springfield, Missouri, at the age of seventy-eight years, eleven months, and twenty-one days. On May 31, 1948, she was united in marriage to Lowell Dean Dunkin, and together they shared fifty-three years before his passing in 2001. On September 20, 2003, she married Robert Clement, her high school sweetheart, and they shared the last three years. She was also preceded in death by her parents; a brother, Joseph Lindsey; a sister, Mary Ann Cline; and a nephew, Jimmy Cline. Ruthalee is survived by her husband, Robert, of the home; two step-sons, Doyle Clement, and his wife, Deanna, of Conway, Missouri, and Wendell Clement, and his wife, Theresa, of Grovespring, Missouri; a step-daughter, Sandra Schallenberg, and her husband, Herman, of Olathe, Kansas; a number of step-grandchildren; several nieces and nephews; as well as a host of other relatives and friends. She was born near Springfield, Missouri, and attended schools in Kansas City, Springfield, and Dallas County, before graduating from Phillipsburg High School. She then earned her degree from Southwest Missouri State Teachers College in Springfield. She began her thirty-seven year career in education by teaching in a rural Dallas County school and then in Long Lane, Missouri. She later taught in the junior high school in Buffalo, Missouri until retiring in 1988. After retiring, she moved to Springfield, where she made her home until marrying Robert and moving to Conway, Missouri. Ruthalee was a longtime member of Harmony Baptist Church and later became a member of Second Baptist Church in Springfield. In 2005, she joined the Bear Thicket United Methodist Church, where Robert is a member. In her spare time she enjoyed painting, and playing the piano and accordion. She was an excellent seamstress and enjoyed making dresses and other types of clothing. She also greatly enjoyed traveling. Ruthalee loved her family dearly, and was a dedicated teacher and caring friend. We celebrate her life and her accomplishments and know that the memories she created for her family and friends will live on forever. Services will be held at 2:00 p.m. Friday, June 15, 2007, in the Holman-Howe Funeral Home, Lebanon. Burial will be in the Bear Thicket Cemetery, Visitation will be held Thursday evening from 7 - 8:30 p.m. under the direction of Holman-Howe Funeral Home of Lebanon, Missouri. Memorials to the Bear Thicket Cemetery Perpetual Care Fund may be made through the funeral home.
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