Ruth J. Wagmiller 1944-2026

Ruth was born to James and Helen Hoopes on Sept. 25, 1944, in Salem. She loved to talk about her idyllic childhood growing up first at the farm on Depot Road and then later at the house on East 11th Street, surrounded by her loving parents, sisters, and too many aunts and uncles, cousins and friends to count. She especially liked to recount the family road trips that her family would take each summer when the Eljer factory, where James worked, would close down for two weeks.

After graduating from Salem High School in 1962, Ruth moved to Columbus to attend a business trade school and eventually began to date another Salem transplant, Robert Wagmiller. The two of them moved back to Salem, married and had two sons, Robert Lee and Charles Allan, before eventually settling down in Boardman and then Poland Township.

Ruth created her own unique form of an idyllic childhood for her sons. She played baseball and kickball in the backyard with them when they were little. She spent summer mornings shepherding them to and from swim practices at the Boardman Swim Club and then spent endless afternoon hours there so they could play with their friends. She let them explore the wide swaths of Mill Creek Park across from their house on their own, just as long as they were home for dinner. She would drive their 34-foot motorhome to Myrtle Beach with the two boys so that they could have a few extra weeks of summer vacation and fun.

She was the kind of loving mother who loves her kids enough to always be there to lend an ear when they need advice and to give her support when their confidence is waning, but strong enough to step back and let them make their own choices. When some of those choices inevitably turned out poorly, she was there to pick you back up and explain how you could make better decisions without being preachy or judgmental.

After raising her two boys and a divorce, Ruth went to work for Miracle Ear. She was a beloved secretary first in the New Castle office and then at the Boardman office in the Southern Park Mall. She was the warm, folksy woman who greeted you when you came into the office and you immediately felt like you had been her friend forever. She was the same way with her clients as she was with everyone else — kind, caring, compassionate and dependable. Ruth took great pride in her work and success at Miracle Ear.

Despite her deep dedication to her work and both of her sons moving out of state, Ruth remained an integral part of their and their family’s lives and was a strong, persistent and loving force in her grandchildren’s lives. She cherished the time she got to spend with her sons, their wives, and especially her grandchildren and great-granddaughter. Christmas seasons were spent with Chuck’s family baking countless cookies, lovingly preparing the holiday meals that brought everyone together around the table and other family traditions. Annual family vacations with them creating memories that will forever remain part of their lives. Bob’s family’s regular visits to Youngstown introduced his boys to the Canfield Fair, Handel’s ice cream, Mill Creek Park and let them explore the woods around her house while he did little repairs around the house.

Known lovingly as “Nanny” first to her granddaughter Kiley, and then subsequently to her grandsons Will and Lucas, and her great-granddaughter Penelope, Ruth was an integral part of all of their lives, albeit in different ways. Ruth played an immeasurable role in her oldest grandchild Kiley’s upbringing and adolescence. She was far more than a grandmother — she was a trusted role model, a source of unconditional love and support and an integral part of the family’s life. Bob’s much younger boys were a constant source of laughter and amusement to Nanny, first on their visits back to Youngstown and at Thanksgivings in New Jersey, and then later on their weekly visits to see her after she moved to a memory care facility a few miles from their home. Nanny’s lessons to the boys were more indirect as her disease progressed, teaching them about unconditional love, patience, kindness in difficult circumstances and the preciousness of life.

Outside of work and spending time with her friends and family, Ruth loved being a good steward of her beautiful eight-acre property in Poland Township. She found great satisfaction there in cutting the grass, maintaining the landscaping and making the property beautiful. She treasured seeing and sharing the property with all the white-tail deer that were her closest neighbors.

When not working or tending to her property, Ruth enjoyed the excitement of finding a good deal at an auction or garage sale, especially when she discovered a well-priced vintage McCoy cookie jar. She also loved playing bingo or occasionally the slots with her friends on trips to the Seneca and Mountaineer casinos.

Ruth will be remembered as a loving, generous and kind woman whose life was grounded in faith and family. She was a devout member of Freedom Church in New Springfield up until the time that her disease necessitated moving closer to family. She quietly lived a life of service to others: to her God, to her family, to her friends, to her clients, to the people and families who found a handwritten note of encouragement and compassion along with a check from her when they hit upon a hard stretch in their life.

Though she faced the challenges of a chronic illness that stole so much from her in those final years, her life remained a testimony to the power of family and friendship and the enduring love of those who surrounded her. Her final memories were of those things she loved and constructed her life around: listening to and laughing at old family stories surrounded by her great-granddaughter Penelope, her grandchildren Will, Lucas and Kiley, and her sons and their wives. She is now at peace in the presence of her Lord, and her memory will continue to be a blessing to all who knew and loved her.

Ruth is survived by her two sons, Robert (Jennifer) Wagmiller and Charles (Stacey) Wagmiller; grandchildren, Kiley Wagmiller, Lucas and William Wagmiller; and great-granddaughter, Penelope Jean Florkowski.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Jim and Helen Hoopes; and sisters, Marjorie Hiscox and Carolyn Harrington.

Friends are invited to celebrate Ruth’s life at a memorial service at 11 a.m. Saturday, June 6, 2026, at Stark Memorial Funeral Home, 1014 E. State St., Salem. A committal and inurnment service for family and friends will be at Grandview Cemetery immediately following the memorial service. All are invited to Ezio’s Restaurant, 182 S. Broadway Ave., Salem, after the committal and inurnment service.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations can be sent in her name to the Rescue Mission of Mahoning Valley at www.rescuemissionmv.org or the Dementia Society of America at www.dementiasociety.org.

Please visit www.starkmemorial.com to share condolences with the family.

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