Ruth Ethel Kern of Topton, a retired schoolteacher and pillar of the community, passed away on Saturday, August 27, 2022, at the age of 90. She was a resident of the Lutheran Home at Topton and had previously been living in the cottage community of the home for over ten years. She was a member of the Fleetwood Bible Church in Fleetwood, PA.

She is survived by her husband Larry A. Kern of 48 years and daughter, Laurel Kilcheska-Jones, and her two sons, Jeffrey S. Winder, and Jonathan P. Kern. Ruth had one granddaughter, Savanna Hailu and three great-grandchildren, Judah, Hazel, and Margo Hailu. She is also survived by two brothers, Robert Corbin, and James Corbin.

Ruth was born in Albany NY March 5, 1932, and grew up in Rochester and College Point NY. She was the daughter of the late Alfred B. Corbin, a minister of the Missionary Alliance Church. She attended Queens College in Flushing NY and graduated in June 1954. She went on to teach in a Lutheran Day School for one year before attending Nyack College where she obtained a music degree.

Ruth married Paul A. Winder November 17, 1956, and had three children they raised in Long Island, NY. She worked for 6 years at Fairfield Elementary School, Massapequa. It was there she returned to Queen's College and obtained her master's degree in education in 1968.

Later in life, Ruth married Larry A. Kern (December 26, 1974) and they lived in Bethlehem PA raising their son Jonathan Kern. She worked at Brass Castle Elementary school in Washington New Jersey for approximately thirty years. She received the New Jersey Teacher of the Year Award several years in a row. Ruth and Larry attended the Grace Brethren Church of Bethlehem where Ruth led the choir for over a decade.

Funeral Services will be private, and a burial performed in Topton Union Cemetery. Online condolences can be made at maestumpfuneralhome.com.