Ruth Talbott was born on August 9, 1909 in the small community of Potomac, Illinois. She was the daughter of Benjamin Alfred and Anna Louvenia Tyler Talbott. She had a brother, Paul and a sister, Mary (married name was Yard). In 1931 Ruth graduated from the Brokaw Hospital Training School and became a registered nurse.
Ruth married Joe Mack Carpenter on October 15, 1932. The couple settled in Shirley, Illinois where Mrs. Carpenter resided for 67 years. Mrs. Carpenter worked various jobs including a private duty nurse, a nurse in a doctor’s office, the Fairview T.B. Sanatorium, and a nurse at General Electric in Bloomington, Illinois. Mrs. Carpenter also spent many years cataloging the obituaries for Bloomington-Normal’s newspaper, The Pantagraph.
Mrs. Carpenter was a member of the Park United Methodist Church, United Methodist Women, Martha Circle and the Crusaders Sunday School Class. Mrs. Carpenter was also a charter member of the McLean County Genealogical Society, the McLean County Historical Society, and the Daughters of the American Revolution.
Joe Mack Carpenter died on August 19, 1976. Mrs. Carpenter moved to Peachtree City, Georgia to live with her nephew a few years before her death on May 29, 2000.