Ruth Furnace, 54, of Norfolk, passed away peacefully on Friday March 20, 2015 after a hard fought battle against ALS. Ruth was born in Garland, TX the daughter of the late Floyd Fowble and Roberta Smith and predeceased by a sister, Jacqueline Ludwig. Ruth is survived by her loving and devoted husband of 27 years, Chris Furnace; children, Denise Borte David, of Norfolk, Mark Gowan Carla, of Virginia Beach, Brandi Gowan, of Virginia Beach, and Michael Gowan, of Loyalhanna, PA; grandchildren, David “Trey” Borte, Quinn Borte, Ethan Borte, Bennett Borte, Nevaeh Bryson, and Carmine Trout; sister Brenda Milling, of Ocala, FL; and many nieces, nephews, cousins, in-laws, and extended family. A funeral service will be held Friday, March 27, 2015 at 1:00pm in Altmeyer Funeral Home, 5792 Greenwich Road Virginia Beach. The family will receive friends at the funeral home from 11:00 to 1:00 prior to the service. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to ALS Walk To Defeat Virginia Beach event for team Fowble Fighters Against ALS. Condolences may be offered to the family at altmeyer.com.
A dear and true friend you were. You may be gone but truly not forgotten. May the Angels carry you to you restful home of sunshine and true joy. Rest in Peace Ruth. Will miss you but will never forget you.
Chris and family….So sorry to hear of your loss. Even though we had never met Ruthie, we will always remember her as a fighter. Keeping your family in our prayers. God bless.
Chris please know how sorry we are for the loss of your beautiful wife and friend. You have been an amazing companion and caregiver, and Ruthie can now rest in a peaceful place. God bless you. Carole & Bill Dewey
Chris,
I’m so sorry is just not enough. Ruth will be very missed. I can’t imagine your feelings. My thoughts are with you. And Ruth, well she is no longer in pain, and she’s in the loving arms of our Father!
Rick Gustwiller
Chris,
Missy and I have followed you guys on Facebook and were moved by the love and care you you gave Ruth. She must have been one special woman. We pray that you do not ever forget the love she obviously had for you and the many fond memories you will always have. Take care buddy.
Denise,
My Heart and prays goes out to you and your family.
Denise,
Our thoughts and prayers are with you and your family. May your mom rest in peace, knowing that she is in a better place. Take care.
Denise,Brandi and Chris, my sincere condolences on the passing of your wonderful mom and beautiful wife. Ruthie was always a welcoming smile and a fun and kind spirit. Your warm memories and funny things you shared with her will always be with you. She will now be your guardian Angel and watch over the whole family as she sits next to her Father. Love all of you
I have seen you at your best running up Mt Trashmore hill now may you rest in peace and as Brenda said run in the flowers.
To the family know my prayers are with you all
Diana
I love you Ruth. You will always be with me in heart and memories. You are our grandsons angel now and you will truly be missed.
I only new Ruth for about 4 years. Met her @ the KoC through Rich Gustwiller, but I remember the joy on her face and the fun she had dancing in her chair. My thoughts & prayers are with the family. God bless & keep you! Debbie
I will always remember you Aunt Ruth, you fought a long, hard, battle. It hurt to see you suffer through all that you did, but now I know you are happy as can be now, PAIN FREE. I love you…. Smile Big.
It was with great sadness that I learned of my aunt’s passing; please accept my heartfelt condolences. Aunt Ruthie was a beautiful woman, who had a beautiful smile and loved will all her heart. I will miss her greatly.
Heaven knows we need never be ashamed of our tears, for they are rain upon the blinding dust of earth, overlying our hard hearts.” Charles Dickens –
momma you are beautiful, loving, caring and a fighter. You will be missed by a lot. You always were a people person and everybody loved you.. You always had a big smile on your face that always brighted my day. I will see you again one day momma.. I love you so much!! You are my angel now!!
my beautiful wife thank you for the life that most people dream of. I will miss your beautiful smile but i know one day we will be together again and you will always be in my heart.i love and miss you so much. your husband for life,Chris
My dear Sista-Cuz, I will miss you dearly! Always and forever 2 Peas in a Pod! Your smile,love and spunk will be ingrained in my soul until we meet again! When we were 5 years old you dared me to kiss my “BOYFREIND”, you wouldn’t tell! So I smacked him on the lips and you ran inside and told -laughing the whole time! You always could make me laugh and get in trouble at the same time! I will miss that but it will carry me and your husband Chris and Children and grand babies and all the people who’s lives you have touched through our loss. Look down upon us all my Sista-Cuz-Angel, be our guardian angel! Love you forever!
My dear sweet Ruthie you are finally home…no longer in pain and free. You are so missed by many and will always be remembered.
My deepest condolences to family… she was definitely an Angel on earth and will b greatly missed.. always loved and never forgotten… wish I could b there n person… love u Ms Ruthie from cheyenne
My deepest sympathies to your family.
My flower child sister, you are going from us, but you are at peace in heaven with our Lord, Moma, daddy, Jackie all have been waiting for you. Now run in the field of wild flowers. I will miss you, love you more.
Brenda
My Mother was very special to me and she will always be remembered as a caring, loving, supporting, fun, cheery, charismatic, lively, and honest Mom and friend. She will be sadly missed but never forgotten. I love you so very very much Mom.
My thoughts are with Chris and all of Ruthie’s friends and family.
Ruth was always an angel here on earth. God has summoned her to help him in heaven. We will all miss you Ruth and we will all see you soon. Love you Jerry
Ruth you always made everyone smile. We had a lot of fun times together. Like the Halloween we didn’t have candy, but we had change so we passed out money! Or the first Christmas I had without my parents and you made me come out up and decorate the tree with you and your family. And I will never forget the time you and I were drinking at the picnic table and ordered $30 worth of food and when the guy delivered it we talked him into taking the rest of the night off to drink with us. You were like a mother and friend but mostly like family I will miss you dearly. My son liam loved it when you would ride around the circle on your scooter racing him on his bike! Never ever forgotten. OV lost one of its best. We love you.
Ruth you will be missed. Chris I’m so proud to know you. You are one great person to of done so much for her and stuck by your beautiful wife like you did.You really showed me what true love is… My prayer’s are with you and her Kids. Hold your heads up high she would want that…Your friend forever, Joey
Ruth, you always brought love and life to everything you did and shared with others. We know you’re sharing your joy with all the angels now. We love you.
Sending my condolences to the family. Dave, Denise and the boys, please stay strong and lean on each other during this time. Take comfort in knowing that suffering is no longer. Mrs. Furnace will watch your family and guide you from above. ~Carla
So sorry for your loss…she was quite a fighter, now she can rest. What a wonderful family she had to love and care for her.
sorry you did you best
To Chris and ALL Ruthie’s Family we send our deepest sympathy and prayers. We will always remember Ruthie with love.
We love & miss you mama Ruth. You were a beautiful person inside & out and so strong. I know you are in a beautiful place now dancing and no longer suffering. You touched so many peoples lives and your memory will always be cherished. Love you always.
Wishing you peace love and joy.
You were always so much fun and definitely brought life to every party…particularly those on parade day. You will be missed.
Lots of Love!