Ruth Clark Powell, 87

Published 11:14 am Monday, May 8, 2023

Ruth Clark Powell, also known to many as “Mama Ruth”, passed away Thursday morning, May 4, 2023, at the age of 87 in Batesville.

Funeral services were held  Saturday, May 6,  in the Martin Willingham Memorial Chapel of Wells Funeral Home in Batesville, interment at Sparta Cemetery in Holcomb.

Ruth was born on October 7, 1935 to the late Cary Luther Clark and Aria Virginia Corder Clark in Holcomb. She worked several different jobs throughout her lifetime, but her biggest accomplishment was owning and operating the GTL and Kettle restaurant in Sardis, as well as the Sugar Shack.

She loved all of her customers. Mama Ruth loved to get outside the house whether she was going to a yard sale or traveling somewhere. She was a lifetime member of the Sparta Methodist Church.

The family left behind to cherish her memory include her three children, Karen Ventura (Bubba) of Greenwood; Steve Oliver (Diane) of Sardis,  and Ruby French (John Robert) of Courtland; two grandchildren, Shane Sorrells and Jonathan French; 7 great grandchildren and 2 great-great grandchildren; and a special family friend, Rita Webb Hallmark.

Along with her parents, she is preceded in death by one daughter, Robin Oliver; her sister, Jean Turner; and her brother, Cary Clark, Jr.