Ruby Engleman Kavanaugh

Ruby Engleman Riffe-Kavanaugh is the second of three children born to the late James Elbert and Lucille Tarrence-Riffe in Hustonville, Lincoln County, KY on May 28, 1928.  She received her primary education in the Lincoln Institute near Louisville, KY and she graduated from Lincoln County High School in 1945.

Ruby went on to study at Kentucky State University earning a Bachelor of Arts Degree in government and history in 1949.  She continued her professional education at the University of Kentucky earning a Master of Education.  Ruby taught in Dayton Public Schools for over 30 years and received the Teacher of the Year in 1965.  She was a lifetime member of the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority and the Montgomery County Retired Teachers Association and the National Education Association.  She was also a member of the NAACP and the SCLC.  Ruby loved to travel to the Christian Church conventions and was a member of Church Women United in Dayton, Ohio.  In 2000, she was able to attend the Passion Play in Bavaria, Germany.  She was a member of Summit Christian Church since 1959 where she served as an Elder, Board Secretary, Treasurer, choir member, member of the Deborah group, a church team mentor, and the general Christian Women’s Fellowship group. Ruby was a faithful member of the Wednesday night prayer meetings, attended Camp Christian Women’s retreats and still had time to volunteer at school.

Ruby Engleman Riffe-Kavanaugh was preceded in death by her beloved husband, William Kavanaugh; sister, Mary Riffe; brother, James Vernon; parents, James Elbert and Lucille Terrance Riffe; and special friend, Gladys Moses.  She is survived by her son, William Kavanaugh; sister-in-law, Sara B. Riffe; nieces, Peggy Martin, Sonia Everett, and Cynthia Long; special friends, Delores Latrum, Wilma Blackmon, Elder Dorothy Williams, Elder Rose Anderson, and Carolyn Joyner; and a host of nieces and nephews and other loved ones.

Funeral service 11 am Monday, May 6, 2024, at Summit Christian Church, 4021 Denlinger Rd, Dayton, OH. Visitation 10 am- 11 am, at which time family will receive friends. Entombment Woodland Cemetery. Arrangements entrusted to House of Wheat Funeral Home, Inc.

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Ruby Engleman Kavanaugh, please visit our floral store.