Ruth Ann Racely's Obituary
UPDATE: Due to inclement weather, the visitation (12 p.m.) and service (1 p.m.) for Ruth Ann Racely WILL BE HELD on Saturday, January 13 at GRACE ST. LUKE’S EPISCOPAL CHURCH.RUTH ANN RACELY, sports reporter and senior media consultant, died Sunday, December 10, 2017 at her home in Memphis. Ruth Ann was born in Memphis, TN, on July 20, 1953. She graduated from Whitehaven High School, Class of 1970, and earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism with a minor in advertising from University of Missouri at Columbia, on January 1, 1973, at the age of 19. Sports being a life-long passion, Ruth Ann began as a sports writer and copy editor at The Commercial Appeal in Memphis from 1973-1975; there she met her husband John Hutto Weed. In 1976 she joined Data Communications Corporation (Jefferson-Pilot, JDS, Encoda, Harris Corporation), evolving from one company through six ownership changes and ultimately became a media consultant, spending 25 years on the road and retiring after 31 years of service in 2006. Ruth Ann felt fortunate to work for a company that valued women and accommodated 2-career families. She saw all of the USA and Canada and met wonderful people who became lifelong friends. She commented that “there is more to life than climbing the ladder.” At the top of the list of Ruth Ann’s passions would be her dapple dachshunds: Schelle, Rudi, Leo and Flash. They filled her heart, her days, and her conversations with good friends. In 1983 Ruth Ann and John moved to Placitas New Mexico, where he became Managing Editor for the Albuquerque Tribune. They spent free time exploring New Mexico and Southwest Colorado. After John’s retirement from The Tribune in 1987, they moved to Fort Myers, Florida, where John worked and then retired as News Editor for The News-Press. In their neighborhood of Dean Park, Ruth Ann and John helped establish Historic District designation, serving as board officers and political liaisons. They loved nature and spent time in the Everglades, the Dry Tortugas and upon their return to Memphis in 2000 spent many weekends visiting the Buffalo River National Park Region in the Ozark Mountains of Arkansas. Ruth Ann had a special affinity for birds and fishing the Buffalo and White Rivers with family and friends. She felt such a strong sense of connection with the region that she left a legacy gift to the Nature Conservancy of Arkansas. Ruth Ann was a supporter of the Historic Elmwood Cemetery in Memphis, established in 1852, as one of the first rural garden cemeteries in the South. As a volunteer, she helped organize their annual Remembrance Day. For many years Ruth Ann was a member of Whitehaven Baptist Church with her parents, but in the last couple of years found her home at Grace St. Luke’s Episcopal Church. An only child, Ruth Ann was preceded in death by her husband of 32 years, John Hutto Weed; parents, Imogean Covington Racely and Kermit Lamar Racely; paternal grandparents, Robert Jewell and Lelia Culberhouse Racely; maternal grandparents, Josie Lee and Mary AnnieDee Covington; aunts, Gladys Audrey Covington and Joy Jones Covington; and uncle, Dr. Leslie H. Covington Sr. (The Memphis Connection). She is survived by her cousins, Dr. Kenneth Hughes Covington (Laura), Leslie Jones Covington (Shona), Josie Lee Covington II (Heather), Leslie Hughes Covington Jr. (Laura), Audrey Lee Hammond Butler (George), Abner Meek Hammond Jr. (Linda), and their families; plus a large contingency of Covington family uncles, aunts, and cousins; stepchildren, Janet Weed Beaver of Brighton, TN, Suzanne Weed Martin (Jim) of Memphis, TN, John Richard Weed (Leila) of San Francisco, CA; step-grandchildren, Sara Wells (Jason), Anna Chandler (John), Jamie Marshall (Allen), Melanie Beaver, Grace Martin, and Isabel Martin. Other survivors include her sister in-law, Betty Jane Weed Moring and brothers-in-law, Joe Keith Weed and William David Weed and their families; and many cherished nieces and nephews. Services will be Saturday, January 13, at The Lord’s Chapel at Elmwood Cemetery with visitation at 12:00 p.m. and funeral services at 1:00 p.m. followed immediately by interment of her ashes. A reception for all will conclude in the Chapel. In lieu of flowers, the family asked that gifts be made in Ruth Ann’s memory to The Nature Conservancy in Arkansas, 601 North University Avenue, Little Rock Arkansas 72205. Arrangements have been entrusted to Memorial Park Funeral Home and Cemetery, 5668 Poplar Ave., Memphis, TN 38119 (901) 767-8930. “Celebrating Life… Behind the Stone Wall”, and are incomplete at this time. Obituary will be posted as soon as it becomes available.
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