Ruth Taylor Fulcher

For Ruth Taylor Fulcher, 87, of Sea Level, July 4th was indeed Independence Day. On Tuesday, from ECU Health in Greenville, she entered the gates of heaven where she was embraced by her loving savior Jesus Christ, her husband Grady, and her stillborn son. She was no doubt greeted by many other joyous faces who have long awaited her arrival.

Ruth was born on December 1, 1935, to Tilmon and Almeta Taylor of Sea Level. The second of eight children, her siblings included Joyce Carroll, Tilmon Allen Jr., Rubye Francis, Harry Gordon, Laura Elizabeth, Alice Faye and Susan Marie. Ruth grew up in a hard-working family, as Tilmon farmed and then eventually started the family seafood business, TA Taylor & Sons, that still operates today.

As a young girl, Ruth was smitten with a handsome high schooler who drove the school bus. Each morning she would walk to one of the small community stores in Sea Level, charge a large bag of candy to her daddy, get on the bus, toss it to the handsome high schooler, and quickly scurry to her seat. Her daddy eventually caught on and put an end to the candy, but he was too late...

Ruth graduated from Atlantic High School in 1953 and began her studies at East Carolina College (ECC) that fall. On August 14, 1955, she married that handsome bus driver, Grady Fulcher, who was now a member of the U.S. Coast Guard. He was unquestionably the love of her life and their relationship spanned 60 years, filled with many blessings, and just a few heartaches.

On March 7, 1957, their perfect baby boy died during childbirth. Ruth was rushed by ambulance to Duke Hospital and never saw or held that first son.

In 1959, Ruth graduated from ECC with a teaching degree in elementary education. That fall, she began a teaching career that would continue for 30 years; the first two years being at Morehead City Elementary and the last 28 years at Harkers Island Elementary.
In March 1962, Grady Jr. was born to the happy couple. In September of 1965, a second son, David Allen, was born and the little family was complete for a while.

Grady's Coast Guard career took Ruth to Wilmington and Elizabeth City, North Carolina, Honolulu, Hawaii, and Glen Burnie, Maryland; but home was always Sea Level.

Ruth began teaching at Harkers Island in 1967 and over the next 28 years taught hundreds and hundreds of third graders (primarily) how to multiply, divide, spell, and write in cursive. Many awards came over the years including the Carteret County Teacher of the Year. But her enjoyment from teaching was the lifelong relationships that she developed with her students. It gave her immense joy to have 45-year-old former students come up to her in Walmart or Piggly Wiggy and tell her that she was his or her third-grade teacher, which was often followed with "You were one of my favorite teachers". When talking about someone from Harkers Island, you often heard her say, "I taught them."

Teaching was only part of Ruth's life's work. Laziness was simply not part of her vocabulary. For most of her work career, she was up well before the sun working in her large greenhouse in the backyard that Tilmon Allen had built for her. After school, her clothes were changed and back into the greenhouse she would go. She grew flowers by the thousands each spring. Thousands she would plant in her yard. Tilmon Allen would plant thousands in his and thousands were given away. None were sold.

Her house was cleaned from one end to the other every Saturday morning: from the blue bathroom to the green bathroom. From April through October her five-acre yard was mowed, trimmed and weed-eated, whether it was needed or not.

But more important than work, flowers, and cleaning, was her love for her family. She loved her two sons, Manny (Grady Jr.) and David, and her two daughters-in-law, Cheryl and Shela, immensely and would do anything to help them. But her five grandchildren were the apple of her eye. Trey, John, Ashton, Bailey, and Ellie brought meaning to her retirement. She and Grady were their biggest cheerleaders and supporters. Whatever they were involved in was where Ruth and Grady were, whether it was Trey or John on the football or baseball field, Ashton playing tennis or soccer, Bailey cheering or playing softball, or Ellie playing basketball or swimming.

Of course, in the last two years, the most wonderful development for Ruth was the arrival of the great-grandchildren - John Curtis Jr, Olivia Karsyn (little woman), and three weeks ago, Isla Lynn. Isla was not due until July 6, but she came three weeks early so she could meet and be held by her Great Granny Ruth.

Ruth was preceded in death by her husband Grady Sr., her infant son, her parents Tilmon and Almeta Taylor, her sisters Joyce Carroll, Rubye Francis, Laura Elizabeth, and Alice Faye, sister-in-law Gloria Jean Taylor, brothers-in-law Monnie Fulcher Jr., Winston Fulcher, Wesley Gordon Fulcher, Roland Fulcher and Lennon Edwards.

She is survived by her sons Grady Jr. and wife Cheryl, David and wife Shela, grandchildren Grady III (Trey) Fulcher and wife Heather, John Curtis Fulcher and fiancé' Kayla, Eleanor Ruth Fulcher, Ashton Davis Fulcher, and wife Sara, and Bailey Elizabeth Fulcher; her brothers Tilmon Taylor Jr., Harry Taylor and wife Deanna, sister Susan Lindeman, brother-in-law Melvin Fulcher and wife Vicki, and sister-in-law Sandy Fulcher and many special nieces and nephews.

The family would like to thank Shelly Guthrie for her care over the last year and especially thank Laura Alice Saulmon, Cindy Brown, Harry Taylor Jr, William Taylor, James Tilmon Taylor, Taylor Brown, and Sabra Brown, who helped their Aunt Ruth realize her greatest wish to live out her days at home in Sea Level.

Her funeral service will be held at 11 a.m., Saturday, July 8th at Free Grace Wesleyan Church on Harkers Island, officiated by Pastor Clint Nelson and Pastor Jonathan Griffin. Interment will follow at Stacy Community Cemetery. The family will receive friends from 6 p.m. until 8 p.m., Friday, July 7th at Free Grace Wesleyan Church. For those unable to attend, the service can be viewed through her obituary page on Munden Funeral Home's website. The service will remain on the Funeral Home website for 90 days.

Family and friends are welcome to submit online condolences at www.mundenfuneralhome.net

Arrangements by Munden Funeral Home & Crematory in Morehead City, NC.