Ruth Smith Kaufman, 95, passed away on Tuesday, March 31, 2026, at Mercy Health — Lourdes Hospital in Paducah, KY.
She was born to the late Jim Smith and Orpha (Dillard) Smith on June 23, 1930. Ruth married David Harrison Kaufman on April 18, 1953; they lived together in their family home from November 1959 until their deaths. Ruth is survived by two sons, Scott Kaufman (wife Kris Lantz-Kaufman) of Jacksonville, Illinois, and Mark Kaufman of Winston Salem, North Carolina; grandchild, Julien Leigh Kaufman (spouse Kelton Ingram) of St. Louis, Missouri; sister Pauline (Smith) Huish of Charlotte, North Carolina; two granddogs BusyBee Kaufman of Jacksonville, Illinois, and Jasmine Kaufman of Winston-Salem, North Carolina; and two great-granddogs, Petra and Finch Kaufman-Ingram of St. Louis, Missouri. Ruth was preceded in death by her husband David; her parents and siblings, Billie (Smith) Gillian of Alton, Illinois, Dola Smith of Alton, Illinois, Bill Smith of Sparta, Illinois, and Joanne (Smith) Kerr of Lafayette, Indiana.
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Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism that is degrading to another person.
Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article.