Absent from the body,,,,,,,,,,,,Present with the Lord Ruth Gwendolyn Thurmond was born on September 17, 1931 to George Hayes Thurmond, Sr. and Iola Mae Johnson Thurmond. The fifth of six children, Ruth was born in and raised in Harlem where she attended elementary and junior high school. After graduating from Washington Irving High School, Ruth worked for several years in a factory. She later returned to school, and in 1960 received her nursing license from the University of the State of New York and began her career as a Licensed Practical Nurse. During her 33 year nursing career, Ruth worked for several hospitals and healthcare facilities including Harlem Hospital, Goldwater Memorial, Lenox Hill and the HIP Center. It was while working as a nurse that she met her lifelong friend, Cora Gilmore, and her good friend, Avon Turner. From 1972 to 1984, Ruth lived and worked in Washington, DC. When she returned to New York, she reaffirmed her faith by becoming a member of Church of The Master. Church of the Master held great importance to her heart and soul, as it had been the church she attended as a child, and her mother's church before that. She took great pride as a Deacon, Elder, Usher and as Chaplain of the Social Concerns Committee. Ruth was a kind and loving person with a generous heart. Her love and devotion to her family was a driving force behind her generosity. She often treated her many nieces and nephews like they were her own children. That love and devotion extended to her friends and church family. She leaves to cherish fond memories: her only child, Herbert William Brown; her sister, Gloria Graham; her nieces, Willette Maybin, Sandra Spence, Audrey LaFrance, Karen MItchell, Marcia Thurmond, and Crystal Thurmond; her nephews, Charles Mitchell, Gary Thurmond, Keith LaFrance, Tyvie LaFrance, Sr., and George Thurmond, Jr.; niece-in-law, Nadine Thurmond; more than fifty nieces and nephews spanning three generations, countless other family members and loved ones; her longtime friend, Cora Gilmore; her entire Church of The Master family including but not limited to the Bunn family, Joyce and Keith Willis, Flossine Wilson, Susan Webb, Agnes Blackman, Joyce Seebrooks, Katie Shaw, and Sherry and Roy Scott. All those who had the pleasure of knowing her will miss her kindness, generosity and love. Lovingly submitted by The Family