Anita Ruth Elder

Anita Ruth Elder, of Valdosta, GA, and most recently The Orchard at Stone Creek, passed away on September 26, 2021, 3 days shy of her 99th birthday.
She was born in Winter Haven, FL on September 29, 1922. Her family moved to Pensacola, FL, where she married Philip Ikeler Elder, a Navy pilot, of Berwick, PA, on April 4, 1942.
The Elder family arrived in Valdosta in 1946 as part of a group that founded Metal Products Div. of Thompson Industries. Ruth was a member of the First Methodist Church and a founding member of the Park Avenue United Methodist Church. She was a past member of the Garden Club and the Valdosta Country Club.
She is survived by her Son, Philip Robert Elder of Valdosta; three grandchildren Stephanie Parks, Scott Elder, and Stacey Elder Valdez; three great grandchildren; and her brother Wilmon Newell Linger of Smiths Grove, KY. She is predeceased by her husband; parents Russell Bretz Linger and Ada Beatrice Baughman, originally of Tucker County, WV.; sisters Patricia Swaine and Joanne Gardner and brother Russell Bretz Linger, Jr. all of Pensacola, FL.
A reception will be held on Thursday, September 30, 2021 from 5-6pm in the Chapel at Park Avenue United Methodist Church in Valdosta. Interment will be with her husband at the Bayview Memorial Park in Pensacola, FL at a later date. In lieu of flowers, donations would be deeply appreciated to Park Avenue United Methodist Church. Condolences to the family may be conveyed online at www.mclanecares.com Carson McLane Funeral Home