TABER, Mrs. Ruth A. Welton
LaVALE, Md. - Ruth A. (Welton) Taber, 83, of LaVale, Md., passed away Wednesday, May 25, 2011, at Western Maryland Regional Medical Center, Cumberland, Md. Born March 25, 1928, in Washington, D.C., she was the daughter of the late Wright and Harriet Welton. She was also preceded in death by her brother, Sanford Welton; and her son, Dan A. Taber of Texas. She is survived by her husband of 60 years, Willard A. Taber, Ph D. biology; and her two sons, Dr. Rod Taber, Ph D. computer science, of LaVale, Md., and biology Professor Stephen W. Taber of Saginaw, Mich. She has three grandchildren and one great grandchild. Also surviving Ruth are her sister, Adair W. Markby of Cumberland, Md.; and a brother, Wright M. Welton of Kiefer, Md,; and four nieces and two nephews. Ruth held a bachelor's degree in botany from West Virginia University and a master's degree in plant pathology from the University of Saskatchewan, Canada. Working with tropical fruit and grains, she traveled to the Philippines, Thailand, India, Africa and other places abroad on USAID contracts that she won. She was on the faculty of Texas A&M University and its Agricultural Experiment Station during those trips. She retired as a Professor Emeritus. After moving to LaVale she taught as an assistant professor of biology at Allegany College, Cumberland. Ruth was a loving wife, mother, and friend to all she knew. The family will receive friends at the Boal Funeral Home, Westernport, Md., on Saturday from 6 to 8 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 1 p.m. A funeral service will be conducted at the funeral home chapel on Sunday at 1 p.m., with the Rev. Gary Rankin officiating. Interment will be in Philos Cemetery, Westernport. Memorial donations can be made to the American Heart Association and or the American Diabetes Association, with our many thanks.