Ruth Walters Prim

Obituary: Ruth Lenora Walters Prim - February 22, 1918 - June 12, 2010. Gregarious, funny dependable, full of life... Ruth was born in Watts Hospital in Durham, N.C.; she spent her earliest years in Mooresville, N.C. After her father's death when she was nine, she spent some time with relatives in Georgia. Although not fully welcomed into that family she found real pleasure in farm chores, rising early to tend to the pigs and the chickens. By high school she was back in North Carolina. She attended Mooresville High School, a member of the Latin Club and the Debate Team; she finished near the top of her class. She graduated from King's Business College with a secretarial degree. She married William Edgar (Ed) Prim in 1937. They had two fine sons - Michael (August 10, 1946) and Richard (August 17, 1950). She loved picking blackberries, loved sitting in the living room eating popcorn, laughing at the likes of "I Love Lucy", "Red Skeleton". For four decades she was an enthusiastic member of a bridge club. She presided over a warm and welcoming home. Michael and Richard's friends loved being at their house - sometimes expressing "I wish Ruth & Ed were my parents: they are so cool." She was secretary at Terry Products in Kannapolis for thirty years, "nearly running the place" as her family and friends remember! She is a long-time member of Jackson Park Methodist Church - a member of one of the church circles and chair for many years of the Administrative Board of the Church. Later Ruth suffered declining memory and Ed declining health. After his death in March, 2001 she moved to Morning Side retirement home. It was a difficult transition at first, but within two weeks she loved it there. She joined in the activities, made new friends, played Bingo and was a frequent recipient of the "friendliest resident" award. They and her family remember her last years - a lively sense of humor, ready to literally kick up her heels, often breaking into a Charleston routine. She had a ready smile for anyone she encountered, including the staff at Mayflower Seafood - her very favorite place to eat (chicken tenders, of course, followed by a visit to an ice cream stand). Her lively spirit endured until very near the end of 92 years. She is survived by Richard Prim and wife, Constance Stanton, M.D. of Salisbury, Michael Prim and wife Carrie Benoit Salemi, grandchildren Peter Michael Prim and Sarah Liesl Prim, M.D. and dear, loyal friend and niece Betty Swiggett. The funeral service will be at 2:00 P.M. Tuesday, June 15, 2010 at Whitley's Funeral Home Main Chapel, Kannapolis, NC officiated by Reverend Chuck Halapilias. Burial will follow at Carolina Memorial Park, Kannapolis, N.C. The family will receive friends from 12:30 P.M. to 2:00 P.M. Tuesday at the funeral home prior to the service. Memorials may be made to Alzheimer's Foundation of America, 322 Eighth Avenue, 7th Floor, New York, N.Y. 10001. On-line condolences may be left at www.whitleysfuneralhome.com.
Visitation: 12:30-2:00 P.M. Tuesday, June 15, 2010 Whitley's Funeral Home

Service: 2:00 P.M. Tuesday June 15, 2010 Whitley's Funeral Home Chapel

Interment: Carolina Memorial Park Kannapolis, North Carolina