Ruth Wendt Murdaugh

SALISBURY — Ruth Wendt Murdaugh, 90, died June 12, 2007, at the home of her daughter and son-in-law, Martha and Michael Nesbitt. She had been struggling with kidney failure for several months.

Mrs. Murdaugh most recently resided in Delray Beach, Fla. She had moved to Coral Gables, Fla., in 1965 upon the retirement of her first husband, Henry Wendt Jr., a pharmaceutical executive, and she lived there for 40 years.

She was born to Carrie (Nelson) and Richard Amos Keyes in Arlington, Mass., on Oct. 6, 1916. She graduated from Lasell College in Newton, Mass. She and a friend gained renown at the age of 16 by swimming from the beach at Scituate, Mass., her summer home, out to Minot’s lighthouse, a distance of 5 miles.

After her marriage in 1940, she lived in Berkeley, Calif., Sands Point, Long Island, and Tuxedo Park, N.Y.

Following the death of her first husband, she married Herbert Wooten, a retired attorney; following his death she married Marvin Murdaugh, a retired automobile executive. At this time she began spending her summers in Myrtle Beach, S.C.

She traveled extensively, making friends all over the world, and played bridge avidly, teaching her grandchildren and great-grandchildren card games, from go fish to gin rummy. She loved golf and won a tournament in Myrtle Beach with one of her daughters, Nancy Cushing.

She was an active investor who followed the stock market closely and enjoyed managing her own portfolio.

She is survived by her four children, Henry Wendt of Friday Harbor, Wash., Lindsay Serrell of Castle Rock, Colo., Martha Nesbitt of Lakeville and Nancy Cushing of Squaw Valley, Calif., and Newport, R.I.; six grandchildren; and 10 great-grandchildren.

A memorial service is scheduled for July 8 at 4 p.m. at Trinity Church in Lime Rock.

In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the Salisbury Visiting Nurse Association, 30A Salmon Kill Road, Salisbury, CT 06068.

The Kenny Funeral Home in Sharon has charge of arrangements.