Ruth (Collick) Gale Carey

Ruth Mae Collick, daughter of the late George H. and Eliza E. Collick departed this life on Wednesday, July 22, 2020, at Delmar Villa in Delmar, Maryland.

Ruth was born May 17th, 1928 in Girdletree, Maryland. She attended the public schools of Worcester County in Maryland.

Her religious training began at an early age in Girdletree at Coolspring United Methodist Church. She was proud to be a member of Coolspring because she was told that her father was one of the founding members.

She started her career at Carey's Restaurant as a cook/waitress in Snow Hill. She married Roland Lester Purnell and then moved with him to Fruitland.

Ruth was an excellent cook until the phone rang, and she would forget about the food. While in Fruitland, she worked at various homes as a domestic engineer.  Whenever the children needed to contact her while she was working, they would call her list of employers until they got a busy signal.  That would be where she was that day.

Ruth joined Mt. Calvary United Methodist Church and remained a member until she relocated to Salisbury, where she became affiliated with Wesley Temple United Methodist Church. She always emphasized the “United” in her Methodist Church.

She became aware of her civic responsibilities and became a member of the NAACP, The League of Women Voters, The 10 Ladies of Mt. Calvary, The Communion Stewart of Mt. Calvary, and The Kitchen Angels. She also assisted in the formation of the Mt. Calvary-Friendship Hand Bell Choir, The Community Organization for Progress and The Republican Women’s Club. Ruth helped to organize the Save Our Youth Organization and assisted with the 4H Club.  She was a registered Republican, even though she let people know, she voted Democrat.

Her favorite saying was “May the work I’ve done, speak for me.”

While she was at Delmar Villa, she let everyone know that “Skeeter” was coming to get her to take her to church no matter what day it was.  She was attended by Sandy Key, who went above and far beyond the call of duty, for which her family will be eternally grateful.

Her marriage to Roland ended in divorce. After several years, she married Emerson Gale and later David Carey. Each of them preceded her in death.  She quoted that “I’ve been married 3 times and each of them was better than the last.”

She gave birth to eight children - four of them; Lisa, Orlando, Roland and Lester preceded her in death.

She leaves to mourn 4 children: Selina Dickerson of Owings Mills, MD, Oscar L. Purnell of Perryville, MD, Cornella J. (Gerald) Harmon of Fruitland, MD, and Lawrence H. (Dionne) Purnell Sr. of Seaford, DE; daughter-in-law: Sara Purnell of Salisbury, MD;  many grandchildren, and great grandchildren; two sisters: Elsie Purnell of Snow Hill, MD, and Marian Jeannette (Wesley) Johnson of New Rochelle, NY; extended family: Carol (Lawrence) Wilson, Brenda Moore, Carlton Mills and Henry (Skeeter) Polk; and a host of relatives, family and friends.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be sent to the NAACP and the American Cancer Society.

Prayerfully submitted,

The Family

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