Ruth Soper Wallace

Ruth S. Wallace, resident of Scarborough, passed away on August 2, 2019, at Scarborough Terrace at the age of 93. She was born and raised in Millinocket, the second child of John R. Soper and Hazel (Strout).

Ruth graduated from Stearns High School in Millinocket in 1943 and then attended Husson College in Bangor, Maine. She then moved to Portland, Maine and began her career with A. R. Wright Company. Later in life, she would tell family members that while she was working at A. R. Wright, “I saw a tall man walking through a snowbank and wondered who he was”. That man who was delivering oil at that time was to become her lifelong husband, Gerard “Red” Wallace.

Ruth and Red were longtime residents of Falmouth, Maine, where they raised their three children. Once their children were grown, Ruth started to work part-time for Peterson Realty, and later became executive secretary, managing multiple offices throughout Southern Maine.

Ruth had a very strong faith, and was a former member of the Falmouth Congregational Church in Maine, and the Georgetown Presbyterian Church in Georgetown, S.C. She and Red met many of their lifelong friends through the church, and they enjoyed a very active social life including bowling, skiing, golfing, and playing bridge.

Once Ruth retired, she and Red moved to Rangeley, Maine, where they enjoyed snowmobiling and fly fishing. It was there that they started playing golf at Mingo Springs Golf Course and the sport really became Ruth’s passion. Red and Ruth took many golf trips together, including a weeklong golf instruction course at Innisbrook Golf Resort in Florida. Ruth loved the Masters Tournament, and they both enjoyed a trip to the Augusta Nationals to watch the players’ practice round, including Tiger Woods, Ruth’s favorite golfer. After living in Rangeley for several years, Red and Ruth moved to Georgetown, S.C., where they would spend the winter months golfing and the summer months visiting in Maine.

Ruth and Red moved back to Maine after 20 wonderful retirement years in South Carolina. They settled in Scarborough close to their children and enjoyed many more years of golf at Nonesuch Golf Course. Ruth was known to be very friendly to the groundskeepers, often giving them homemade muffins on her and Red’s coffee break at the 5th hole.

Ruth loved her two grandchildren, Erica Kidd and Rachael Wallace. She enjoyed many visits with them and the family in Rangeley, South Carolina, and at their timeshare in Kissimmee Florida, which included several trips to Disney World.

She will be sadly missed by her two children, daughter Ann and husband Greg Kidd of Old Orchard Beach; son Lester and wife Carmen of Scarborough; and her two dear granddaughters, Erica Kidd and husband Justyn Judkins; and Rachael Wallace. Ruth was predeceased by her husband, Gerard Wallace, and her son, John Wallace.

The family would like to thank all the staff at Scarborough Terrace for all their care and support for Ruth during her time there.