Ruth Agnes King

Ruth Agnes “Becky” King, 84, died Thursday, September 26, 2024, after a brief illness, at VCU Medical Center in Richmond.

She was born in Patrick County, Virginia, on September 2, 1940, the youngest child of the late Omar Savannah and Ruth (Hamilton) King. She grew up in Highland County and graduated from Highland High School in 1958, with her best friend Georgianne Maloy. Ruth attended the Blue Ridge Sanatorium School of Nursing in Charlottesville. It was there that she met John Joachim, a former University of Virginia student, and they eloped to North Carolina to marry in 1960. After Ruth married, she stopped working as a nurse.

Following their marriage, Ruth and John set up their household in Charlottesville. They had two children together, Michael Kirk and Mary Beth Joachim. Ruth was actively involved in her children’s lives, volunteering at their schools, helping with Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts. She often took them to swim at Chris Greene Lake with her best friend, Joanne Inscoe and her daughters, Paula and Beth.

In 1977, the Joachims moved to Chase City, in furtherance of John’s career in banking. They bought a house on Boyd Street, where Ruth supervised its extensive renovation. Once that project was complete, she began to work outside the home again. A lifetime lover of reading, she took a job at the town library in Chase City. She loved her job and stayed there until 1985, when she moved away from Chase City to Richmond as part of her divorce from John.

In Richmond, Ruth worked at CapitalOne, an ice cream shop on Grove Avenue called “Scoops,” and for the McGuire Woods Law Firm as a file clerk. She also helped take care of her granddaughter, Ada, even moving with the family to Chicago for a time.

Ruth is survived by her son, Michael Joachim and his wife, Pamella of Pelham, Alabama; her daughter, Mary Beth Long and husband, James D. of Richmond; grandson, Neal Joachim; two granddaughters, Bonnie Joachim and Ada Long; two great-granddaughters, Sarah Joachim and Charlie A.M. Joachim; and a great-grandson, Jude Autry.

In Ruth’s heart, Highland County was always her home. A memorial service will be held 2 p.m., Saturday, October 12, 2024 at Obaugh Funeral Home with inurnment to follow in McDowell Presbyterian Church Cemetery on Bullpasture River Road.

To honor Ruth’s memory, please donate to a library.