Ruth Erhardt Bumsted

Asheville ~ Ruth Erhardt Bumsted, 80, of Deerfield Episcopal Retirement Community, died on Wednesday, March 19, 2008 at a local hospital. She was born in Salem, New Jersey on October 10, 1927, the daughter of Paul Erhardt, Jr. and Alice Peterson Erhardt, and called Salem home for most of her life. Af-ter attending local schools, she went to Syracuse Univer-sity and then moved back to Salem, where she met Henry "Doug" Bumsted. They married in 1949 and shared a wonderful life for 58 years. Ruth and Doug raised two daughters, Lee and Pat, in their home in Elsinboro. Ruth and her family loved spending time outdoors working in their extensive fruit, vegetable, and flower gardens, going on fam-ily camping trips, and walking their slightly spoiled dogs, first Sophie and then Tug. Ruth was very athletic, playing tennis with her daughters, and enjoying long walks with Doug throughout her life. She took up cross-country skiing in her fifties , and loved a good snowfall. Her family loved to hear her sing. She enjoyed reading good books and was accomplished at crossstitching and knitting. She worked outside their home except when her daughters were young, and was home when school let out. She was a valued member of the staff at St. John's Day School in Jericho, NJ, and worked as the book-keeper at the family business, Paul Erhardt, Inc. in Salem. Her active community service included volunteering with the Jay-Cee-Ettes and 16 years at the Salem County Memorial Hospital. In 1999, Ruth and Doug retired to Asheville. She was in-volved in volunteer activities and she helped make beautiful gardens at Deerfield. She will live on in the loving memory of her family, her husband Henry "Doug" Bum-sted of Asheville; daughters Lee Alison Bumsted of South Portland, Maine and Patricia Bumsted Shafer of Winston-Salem; and many friends in Asheville and Salem. Her family wishes to thank all the staff members at Deerfield who loved and cared for Ruth, particularly the incredible staff in Skilled Nursing. A memorial service will be held at 2:00 PM Saturday, March 22 in St. Giles Chapel at Deerfield Episcopal Retirement Community. A reception will follow the service. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be directed to the Deerfield Episcopal Retirement Community Residency Fund, 1617 Hendersonville Road, Asheville, NC 28803.