Dorothy Ruth Kempton McClanahan(Kempy)died Christmas Eve December 24, 2007 at Hill House Assisted Living in Bath, Maine. She was born August 21, 1912 to Willard Hoyt Kempton and Alice Coffin Kempton in Bridgeport, Connecticut, and the family moved to Avon Park, Florida in 1930. From there she attended Wooster College, Wooster, Ohio where she met her future spouse, Paul H. McClanahan (deceased 4/25/2005). An adventuress, she travelled with her husband to Egypt in 1947 in the employ of the Presbyterian Board of Foreign Missions. There she became a gifted hostess for American and international guests at Assiut College in Assiut, Egypt. The family returned to the United States in 1962. Her husband was appointed chaplain and ethics professor at Monmouth College, Monmouth, Illinois and it was at Monmouth College that she completed her B.A., cum laude, majoring in art, and taught remedial reading in the public school system for ten years, retiring to Avon Park in 1978.

Ruth was a lifelong member of the Avon Park Garden Club. A skilled decorator and flower arranger, she was also an avid bridge player. She is survived by her four children, Neal of Avon Park, Paul of Bath, Maine, Alice of Yorktown, Virginia, and David of Richmond, Virginia, three grandchildren, Brendan, Maria, and Paul, and great grandchild Peter.

Cremation arrangements are extended to Kincer Funeral Home, Richmond, Maine. Her ashes will be carried back to Avon Park by her son Paul and her daughter-in-law Peesh and she will be buried next to her husband in the Bougainvillea Cemetery, Avon Park, arrangements made by the Fountain Funeral Home, 507 US 27 north. A graveside service will be held by Pastor Burt Lawrence at 11 AM on Wednesday, January 2, followed by a reception at the Union Congregational Church, 106 N. Butler Ave., Avon Park.