RUTH CHASE NAUGHER (“Rudye”) CABE
November 20, 1926 – January 31, 2020
RUTH CHASE NAUGHER (“Rudye”) CABE, 93, died peacefully on January 31, 2020 at Regency Rehabilitation Center, Huntsville, Alabama. Memorial services are scheduled on Tuesday, February 4 at Berryhill Funeral Home, Huntsville. Family will be present for visitation at 10 a.m.; followed by a devotional service and celebration of her life at 11 a.m. Interment will follow immediately at the family burial plot in Maple Hill Cemetery. Chase Park Church of Christ minister John Denney will lead the services. The family has requested donations in lieu of flowers – either to Chase Park Church or a charity of choice.
Rudye was born November 20, 1926 in Chase, Alabama to Tom and Pauline Naugher. The younger of two daughters, Rudye and her older sister MARY MARGARET (REEVES) became and remained best friends to one another for life. Rudye moved to Abilene, Texas in 1942 to live with Margaret and her new husband, ROBERT REEVES, while completing her high school diploma and beginning undergraduate studies at Abilene Christian College. She received a Bachelor’s Degree in mathematics in 1946, and subsequently met WALTER DANIEL (“Dan”) CABE while working in Abilene. Dan and Rudye were married February 14, 1948 in Dallas, Texas at a family home. They were inseparable and devoted to one another every day until Dan’s premature death from pancreatic cancer on August 9, 1984.
Rudye and Dan relocated from Dallas to Huntsville in 1952 with their young children WALTER WILSON and SHANNON RUTH; DANIEL SCOTT was born in 1958. Tom and Pauline Naugher had created an opportunity for their two daughters and families to live on and operate Naugher Nursery, Inc., a family owned commercial nursery. The homes on Winchester Road were the center of Rudye’s family life for more than 50 years until her move to Regency Retirement Center in Huntsville.
Rudye added her teaching credentials in 1962, and taught math at Chapman Elementary and Chapman Junior High in Huntsville for more than twenty years. She was known by her colleagues for a sharp wit and persistent humor in every situation. Generations of students quickly understood her exacting expectations and were motivated to avoid at all costs “The Look” – a distinctive and penetrating gaze known to have instilled genuine “fear and trembling” in its path.
Rudye’s life was a living testament to her faith in Jesus Christ as her Lord. Whether serving as a participant/leader in Ladies Bible Class; teaching young students in Sunday school; or scoring endless exams from international students enrolled in World Bible School, she was an authority on the entirety of both Old and New Testament details. More importantly, her life reflected the Peace of her deep, lifelong trust relationship with God.
Rudye was a quiet but determined pioneer. She and Dan were among the handful of young couples dispatched in the late-1950’s from Central Church of Christ in downtown Huntsville to begin a new congregation in the rapidly growing new Lakewood housing development along a major transportation artery in the northern portion of the city. Memorial Parkway Church of Christ grew consistently to become a major community of faith serving this expanding area. Many years later, Rudye and Margaret donated the initial ten acres on Winchester Road to help establish Chase Park Church of Christ; a now thriving community of faith in northeast Madison County.
Her life was defined and sustained by her church family – particularly the enduring and priceless assistance from Ruth and Paul King; the faithful and effective attention from Don Champion to manage and preserve the homes and surrounding acres; and the too many to name Chase Park volunteers who faithfully checked on her every week during her final years at Regency. The staff at Regency was a consistent source of thoughtful and effective care over many years. Camilla and the team from Good Samaritan Hospice were gracious companions in her final days.
Rudye is survived by her three children – Walt (Marjorie), Shannon Baird, and Scott; four grandchildren – Evan (April) Baird; Chase; Caroline Goins; Elizabeth (Travis) Grubbs; four great-grandchildren – Owen Baird; Mia, Max and Mason Grubbs; nephew, Tom Reeves and niece, DiAnne Hogue.
Pallbearers will be Walt Cabe, Scott Cabe, Chase Cabe, Evan Baird, Tom Reeves and J. R. Fricke. Honorary pallbearers are the leadership at Chase Park Church and the staff at Regency Retirement and Rehabilitation Center.
She is celebrated by family and her many friends as a unique and precious gift. May she rest in Peace and rise in Glory.
