Ruth Wooldridge Neal

Funeral Services Celebrating the Life of Mrs. Ruth Wooldridge Penton Neal, 84, will be held at 1:00 P.M. Thursday, January 13, 2022, at the Boeuf Prairie Methodist Church in Fort Necessity, LA with Rev. Rex Barker officiating. Interment will follow in the Boeuf Prairie Methodist Church Cemetery under the direction of Mulhearn Funeral Home Winnsboro, LA.

Mrs. Neal was born on September 23, 1937, to the union of Rastus Wooldridge and Mary Mason Wooldridge. Her youth was spent entirely in Franklin Parish, LA, where she became a member of Boeuf Prairie Methodist Church. Ruth graduated from Fort Necessity High School and went on to attend Northwestern University in Natchitoches, LA, where she received a B. A. in Elementary Education. While at Northwestern, she was a member of Delta Zeta sorority, the Northwestern Daemonettes, and was a Dean’s list Student. During her early years of teaching, Ruth taught English and was the Librarian at Baskin High School and later at Winnsboro Jr. High School. In 1964, she took a teaching position at Fort Necessity High School, where she continued shaping the lives and minds of many 8th and 9th graders with her expansive knowledge of English and Louisiana History. She always took great pride in being sure her students became the best they could be and was named The Outstanding Young Teacher of the year in Franklin Parish. After her many years of tenure with the Franklin Parish School Board, she retired from public teaching and moved to Monroe, LA, where she was able to combine her love for teaching and her desire to help children with special needs at Woodland Hills in West Monroe, LA. She was a teacher to the core, and even in the years she spent in assisted living and nursing homes, she would lovingly and graciously try and encourage all of the young aids to go back to school. She actually accomplished this on several occasions!

After retirement, Ruth enjoyed traveling to see her family and friends. She is preceded in death by her parents, Rastus and Mary Mason Wooldridge.

Survivors include her son, Michael Edward Penton of Williamsport, PA; daughter, Sharon Penton Durham and husband, Robert of Jackson, MS; four grandchildren, Patrick Williamson and wife, Kayla of Flowood, MS, LT Kirk Williamson and wife, Mariana of New Orleans, LA, CWO3 Kotee Penton and wife, Juliet of Joint Base Lewis McChord, WA, and Miranda Penton of Katy, TX; four beautiful great grandchildren, Kagen, Brycen, Ryzer, and Sofia Williamson and one dearly beloved brother, James Ernest Wooldridge and wife, Beth of Monroe, LA. She was also blessed with step- grandchildren and great grandchildren whom she loved like her own.

Pallbearers will be Steve Moore, Ken Mason, James Felton Moore, Greg Kincaid, Jeff Moore and Mike Bryan. Honorary Pallbearers will be Bill Sharp, James E. Wooldridge, Jr., and William Stanford Wooldridge.

Visitation will be held from 5:00 P.M. until 7:00 P.M. on Wednesday, January 12, 2022 at Mulhearn Funeral Home Winnsboro, LA.

In lieu of flowers, the family is asking that memorials be made in Mrs. Ruth’s honor to the Parkinson’s Foundation at www.parkinsons.org.