Mrs. Ruth Mitchell Rutledge Dunker, age 99, of Louisville, Kentucky and longtime resident of Madison, entered this life on August 19, 1926, in Glasgow, Kentucky. She was the loving daughter of the late Roy and Edith Chamberlain Rutledge. She entered her new life with Christ on Wednesday, November 5, 2025, in Louisville, where she had lived six years at The Springs of Stony Brook, a community that truly cared and loved her deeply.
Mitchell was a 1944 graduate of Glasgow High School and graduated from Hanover College in 1948 with a bachelor’s degree in English. She married Lee Charles Henry Dunker on June 14, 1948, in Hanover, Indiana, and from this marriage came her three sons, Paul, Donn, and Gus. An English teacher for Madison Consolidated High School for many years, she was known for her excellence in teaching as well as published writing, including poetry, short stories, and novels. Upon retirement, Mitchell collected antiques with a sharp eye for fine art. She loved dealing in the stock market and tutoring the children of Japanese executives, making for a well-rounded retirement. Games of bridge with friends – called “the Card Club” — at The Red Pepper were always special.
Basketball to philosophy to English literature, she could discuss nearly any topic, especially the enduring Word of God as found in Scripture. A speed reader, she read the Bible cover to cover many times and experienced the joys of lifelong learning. It’s only natural that, along with her husband Lee, Mitchell was a founding member of Madison’s Faith Lutheran Church and was active in the congregation’s Lutheran Women’s Missionary League (LWML). She also received a Girls Inc. award for her contributions to education and the community and conducted a book signing at the Madison-Jefferson County Public Library.
A LOVING FAMILY
Mitchell will be missed by her loving sons, Paul Dunker and his wife, Julie of Columbus, Ohio; Donn Dunker of Louisville, Kentucky; her daughter-in-law, Sue Dunker of Madison, Indiana; her three granddaughters, Joni Marie Dunker of Columbus, Ohio; Lee Ann Hall and her husband, Edward of Hanover, Indiana; Sarah Wimpee and her husband, Phillip of Madison, Indiana; her grandson, Luke Nicholas Dunker of Columbus, Ohio; her great-grandchildren, Grady, Bennett, Kylen, and Lincoln.
She was preceded in death by her father, Roy Rutledge; her mother, Edith Chamberlain Rutledge; her husband, Lee Charles Henry Dunker; her son, Lee Gus Dunker, DDS; and her beloved sisters, Elizabeth “Libby” Rutledge and Emmeline Rutledge who died in childhood.
FUNERAL CENTRE VISITATION
Visitation is scheduled from 5:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m., Friday, November 14, 2025, at the Morgan & Nay Funeral Centre, 325 Demaree Drive in Madison, Indiana.
CHURCH VISITATION/FUNERAL CEREMONY
An additional church visitation is scheduled from 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m., Saturday, November 15, 2025, at Faith Lutheran Church, 3024 Michigan Road, Madison, Indiana. Funeral services led by Pastor Jeff Pflug will follow at 11:00 a.m. Interment will follow in the Indiana Veterans Memorial Cemetery, 1415 North Gate Road in Madison, Indiana.
MEMORIAL EXPRESSIONS
Memorial contributions may be made to Faith Lutheran Church. Cards are available at the Morgan & Nay Funeral Centres of Madison and Hanover
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