Lois Ruppenthal Wethington

Lois Ruppenthal Wethington, age 101 and 8 months, died peacefully on February 2, filled with the love of Christ and in the trusting assurance of sharing in Christ’s resurrection life. 

Lois was born May 31, 1923 in Harrisonburg, Virginia. She was the daughter of the Rev. Harry P. Ruppenthal and Erma Ruth Tutwiler Ruppenthal and had one sister, Ethel Barlow, a year and four months younger, who died in 2013. Her father, Rev. Ruppenthal, was a very well-known and admired Presbyterian pastor, having served in Durham at Blacknall, and having founded Mt. Bethel and Northgate Presbyterian churches. Lois was very grateful for having grown up as a “Preacher’s Kid”, with some of her earliest years being spent on Englewood Avenue in West Durham, where as a child she made life-long friends. Lois was married to Lewis Elbert Wethington, who died March 3, 2019, at the age of 96. They were married for 73 years, and were the 13th couple to marry at Duke Chapel on November 21, 1945. Lois and Elbert met in the orchestra of Durham High School. Lois was Elbert’s compassionate caregiver for seven years, during his final illness of progressive dementia. 

Lois received her BA degree from Duke in 1946. After Elbert completed his Ph.D. degree from Duke in 1949, they moved to Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, where Elbert taught in the Department of Religion at Bucknell College. In 1951, they moved back to Durham where Elbert became Assistant Professor of Religion at the Duke University Undergraduate School Department of Religion. In 1954, they moved with their three children to the Philippines, which was, at the time, a war-torn and impoverished country, where both of them served as Methodist missionaries. Their joint decision rested on their commitment to missionary service, particularly in the aftermath of WWII. In 1963, they returned from the Philippines and Elbert accepted a professorship at Lebanon Valley College in Annville, PA, where they lived for twenty years. In 1983, they retired to Oriental, NC, and then in 1991 moved to Durham. They moved to Croasdaile Village in 2012. 

While she gave very much of herself to supporting her husband and raising their three children, Lois also shared her many gifts in the ministries of the Methodist and United Methodist Church, as well as within the communities in which she lived. During their years in Pennsylvania, she was very active with the United Methodist Women of the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference, offering leadership in various capacities and during her time in the Philippines, she taught courses on religion at the Mary Johnston Hospital School of Nursing. The time in the Philippines was a formative and uplifting period for her family, made possible by the friendships developed with the Filipino people.

Apart from her family and the church, Lois’ passion was painting. Lois was a talented artist from a very young age. She began by working with oils and pastels, but while living in the Philippines, she studied under a Chinese artist and began to paint in the Chinese brushwork style. She produced over 200 paintings, which have always graced their homes, as well as the homes of their children and grandchildren. In 2001, a book was published about her gift of painting, entitled Visual Poetry, My Journey into Chinese Painting, which features a selection of her artwork, and tells the story of various styles and techniques. She avoided commercializing her paintings, but exhibited them at many institutions, appeared on television, and taught courses on Chinese brushwork. Some Chinese artists have expressed admiration that she had not only mastered the traditional techniques, but had also captured the authentic spirit of Chinese brushwork. In 1986 the Imperial Palace Museum in the ancient Forbidden City in Beijing mounted approximately two dozen of her paintings on beautiful silk scrolls, the first time a foreign artist was accorded such an honor.

Verses of Holy Scripture describe her life: “As a mother comforts her child” (Isaiah 66:13), “She is far more precious than jewels” (Proverbs 31:10), “Strength and dignity are her clothing . . . she opens her mouth with wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue . . . her children rise up and call her happy” (Proverbs 31:28). Lois eloquently and consistently lived out her gifts of friendship and hospitality, embracing the inclusion of all people. She lived a very beautiful life. 

Lois is survived by her children: Olin (Nadine), Joyce (Rick) and Mark (Beth), as well as 8 grandchildren and 9 great-grandchildren. She loved her children dearly and enjoyed blessed times with her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. 

The family is very grateful to her many friends at Croasdaile Retirement Village for their loving support and kindness, especially to the aides who lovingly cared for her during the later years of her life, when she struggled with COPD. The family also wishes to offer a special word of thanks to the nurses and staff at Duke Hospice, who provide much needed care and support in the final days of her life. 

A Service of Death and Resurrection will be held in Few Interfaith Chapel at Croasdaile Retirement Village on March 1, 2025 at 12 noon. Burial will follow at Maplewood Cemetery, followed by a reception at Croasdaile.

The family asks that any contributions in Lois’ memory be made to Asbury United Methodist Church, the congregation which sent forth the Wethington’s to their missionary work in the Philippines and where they also enjoyed membership. Contributions can be sent to Asbury United Methodist Church at 806 Clarendon Street, Durham, NC 27705.