Ruth Hyatt Kimberly

Ruth Hyatt Kimberly passed away peacefully on July 25, 2019. She was born in Whittier, North Carolina on February 23, 1930. She married Charles Honess Kimberly on September 12, 1953. They moved their young family to Kissimmee, FL in 1961 to provide better educational opportunities for their daughters and because Ruth did not like cold weather. After renting a short time, they purchased a home on Lake Cecile Drive. Ruth attended Qualla Elementary School and graduated from Sylva High School (Jackson County, NC). She earned a BA in education and a MA in Library Science from Western Carolina University. She taught in Winston-Salem, Murphy, and Nantahala in North Carolina as well as at Highlands Elementary in Osceola County, FL. For most of her career she was a school librarian at Highlands (where she started the library), Mary Bryan Elementary (she started the library there, too), and Ross Jeffries Elementary (all in Osceola County). She retired in 1987, after 30 years. Ruth was an avid reader her entire life; as a young girl, her mother often had to make her blow out the oil lamp and go to sleep. It is no surprise that she turned her love of books into a career as a librarian. Charles taught all three daughters to swim and waterski; Ruth, having never learned to swim, always drove the ski boat. Charles and Ruth were avid runners during their middle years, amassing many T-shirts, ribbons and trophies from local races and the Senior Olympic Games. When running became more difficult, she maintained her exercise routine by riding a tandem bicycle with Charles and walking with the Osceola Square Mall Walkers. Ruth also enjoyed hiking, especially in the mountains of western North Carolina where she and Charles purchased a summer home after they both retired. Ruth also learned to weave baskets in her late 60s and created many baskets of her own design. Ruth was a long-time member of St. Johns Episcopal Church, Kissimmee and served in many capacities over the years, including Altar Guild and office volunteer. She was also a member of Delta Kappa Gamma Society International (serving as treasurer of the local chapter), and the Retired Teachers of Osceola County (serving as secretary for many years). Her parents, Ed Hyatt, Elizabeth Ray Hyatt; her sister Marjorie Hyatt Hall; and her husband of 44 years, Charles Honess Kimberly, preceded her in death. She is survived by her brother, Howard Blinn Hyatt of Brevard, NC; daughters Mary Marjorie Kimberly of Decatur, GA (husband John Gavin MacDonald), Laura Ray Kimberly of Dallas, TX (husband Kent Trulsson), and Jonni Leigh Kimberly of Orlando, FL (husband Dennis Bryan Byle); her grandsons, Ian Charles MacDonald of Beaverton, OR, Bryan Hyatt Byle of Orlando, FL, and Taylor Sebern Byle of Jacksonville, FL; and great-grandson Dale Gavin MacDonald. Visitation will be held Friday, August 2, 2019 from 4 to 8 PM at Osceola Memory Gardens (1717 Old Boggy Creek Rd, Kissimmee). Services will be held on Saturday, August 3 at 2 PM in the chapel at St. John’s Episcopal Church, 1709 John Young Pkwy, Kissimmee. Interment will immediately follow at Rose Hill Cemetery, 1615 Old Boggy Creek Rd, Kissimmee. A reception will follow at St. John’s Episcopal Church. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the Ruth H. Kimberly Memorial Scholarship at the Education Foundation of Osceola County (http://www.foundationosceola.org).

Ruth Hyatt Kimberly

February 23, 1930 - July 25, 2019