Northumberland - Ruth "Ruthie" Louise Ford, aged 88, Northumberland, passed away peacefully in the company of her daughter Margo and the kind and devoted staff at Nottingham Village's Heather Court on Wednesday, Oct. 8, 2025.

The daughter of the late John Valentine and Ruth Emily (Morrall) Ford, Ruthie was born on Feb. 10, 1937, at Sunbury Community Hospital.

She was a 1955 graduate of Northumberland High School, having been elected to the National Honor Society during her senior year. Ruth received an RN degree from the Episcopal Hospital School of Nursing in 1958 and a specialized degree in Anesthesiology in 1962. In 1960, between Ruthie's nursing degrees, she married John Joseph McFarland, who past away in 1976.

A life-long learner, she was awarded a BS in Professional Arts from St. Joseph College in 1992.

Ruth practiced as a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist at Framingham (Massachusetts) Union Memorial Hospital (home of the Framingham Heart Study) between 1968 and 1979 and at the R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore Maryland between 1979 and 1989. She was part of the trauma team featured — in both text and images — in LIFE Magazine's article entitled "World's Best Medical Shock Team" (October 1980 issue). In the last decades of her nursing career, Ruth worked at both the Geisinger Medical Center, Danville, and Evangelical Community Hospital, Lewisburg, until her retirement from Geisinger Medical Center.

Always active in local and national causes that she supported, Ruth was awarded Certificates of Appreciation from the Northumberland Kiwanis Club, the Northumberland Historical Society, area Garden Clubs, the National Heart Association, the American Red Cross, and numerous other community and health-based societies and organizations.

Ruth was a talented and tireless genealogist for her family and her community. She was inducted into the National Society of the Dames of the American Revolution (DAR) in March of 1990.

A world explorer for over 50 years, Ruth traveled widely throughout Europe, the UK, the Middle East, and Latin America. And in the last two decades of her life she traveled to eastern Europe as a volunteer with three humanitarian missions.

Always a supporter of Penn State Football (her father was on the team for two seasons during the late 1920s), Ruth cheered for the Nittany Lions as a traveling fan in the home stadiums of numerous other BIG Ten Conference teams, most often in the company of her cousin Joe Epler.

Ruthie is survived by; her daughter, Margo Ruth McFarland (Leslie Walter Baranowski) of Chicago, Ill.; sister-in-law Lois "Betsy" (Hopewell) Ford of Northumberland; nieces, Leota Ford, Joane Johnson and nephews, Rick and Scott Ford.

Ruth was preceded in death by her brothers, John "Jack" and Richard "Dick" Ford and her niece, Laura Ford.

A celebration of Ruthie's life will take place on what would have been her 89th birthday (the third weekend of February 2026).

To honor Ruth's appreciation for animals in general and "The Lucky-Dog" in particular, contributions in her memory may be made to Mostly Mutts, 284 Little Mountain Road, Sunbury, PA 17801.

With gratitude, arrangements are by the Joseph W. Epler Funeral Home, 210 King St., Northumberland.