Ruth L. Mettlen

August 18, 1918 - February 13, 2021

Ruth L. Mettlen, 102, of McPherson, Kansas, passed away at 4 a.m., Saturday, February 13, 2021, peacefully, at MTM Boarding Care Home of McPherson. Ruth L. Mettlen, daughter of Levi Raymond and Ruth Esther (Corsaut) Sprinkle, was born August 18, 1918 in Salina, Kansas. Ruth attended school in Hutchinson and graduated from Hutchinson High School in 1936. She graduated from Hutchinson (Community) Junior College in 1938. On Christmas Day, December 25, 1938, she married Richard L. Mettlen, her high school sweetheart. They were married 76 years. Ruth was a member of the First United Methodist Church, member and past president of Chapter EU, P.E.O., member of Eastern Star, member of McPherson Memorial Hospital Auxiliary, and member of American Legion Auxiliary. She served as a director on the Home State Bank & Trust Board for 12 years. Ruth was the creator and designer of gorgeous floral arrangements, which she signed by attaching a “Ruth Original” tag to each unique piece. Ruth was very competitive and she played golf for 45 years, participating in tournaments and Ladies’ Golf Association activities. She scored three holes-in-one during her golfing career. Ruth was preceded in death by her loving husband, her parents, and siblings Helen Fuller, Charles Sprinkle, and Carolyn Gordon. Surviving family members include her daughters Rae Ann and her husband Dave Leach, of Sisters, Oregon, and Margo Yates, of Marion, Kansas; grandchildren, Molly Leach, of Salida, Colorado, Bart Leach and his wife Tara, of Boise, Idaho, and Michael Yates and his wife Elaine, of McPherson; great-grandchildren Hailey, Abby, and David Leach, and Adrian Yates; sister Ramona Rose, of St. Charles, Illinois; and caregivers Marla and Mike Tolbert, Helen Allison, and Judy Unruh, all of McPherson. A private graveside services will be held at Fairlawn Burial Park Cemetery, in Hutchinson, Kansas. In lieu of flowers, memorials in Ruth’s name may be made to McPherson Memorial Hospital, and may be sent to Glidden-Ediger Funeral Home, 222 W. Euclid, McPherson, Kansas 67460.