Ruth Allison Nagel, age 82, passed away on Wednesday, October 7, 2009, in Kansas City, Missouri. She is survived by three children, Marc, Alison and Frank, and a sister, Jean Hereford. Born in 1926 into a farming family, Ruth grew up in Columbia, Kentucky, the second child of three. She studied social work at Lindsey Wilson College, University of Kentucky and Western Reserve University. Her career began with traveling the unpaved roads in her father's Model A Ford to teach at a one-room school house in rural Adair County. Ruth later worked for many years as leader and administrator for The Girl Scouts of America. In Reading, Pennsylvania she continued her career as a case-worker for Family Guidance Center and served on the board of Planned Parenthood. Moving to Memphis with her family in 1970, Ruth began working for Family Service of Memphis in a part-time career that was to last 22 years. She was active in church, hospital and mental health fundraising her entire life and was known as a champion of the under-privileged. She was a member of the Church of the Holy Communion. Ruth married Fritz John Nagel of Paducah, Kentucky in 1953. She loved to travel with her husband and made friends in many corners of the world. She will be remembered as a generous and energetic, people-oriented person who served her neighbors and community well. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to MIFA or Church Health Center. Visitation will be at 11:00 a.m. and a memorial service at 12:00 Noon Tuesday, October 13, 2009 at Church of the Holy Communion, 4645 Walnut Grove Road. Burial will follow in St. John's Episcopal Cemetery. Memphis Funeral Home Poplar (Published in The Commercial Appeal on October 10, 2009)