Ruth Dorothy (Shultz) Cudlin

Ruth Dorothy (Shultz) Cudlin, 93, of Newfield, NY passed away on October 25, 2022 of natural causes. She was born on December 4, 1928 to William and Stella (Jedra) Shultz. In addition to her parents, Ruth was predeceased by her son, David Joseph Cudlin; her siblings, Theodore “Teddy”, Frank “Micky”, William “Billy”, and Gloria “Janie”. She is survived by her husband of 73 years, Joseph Cudlin; children, Linda DiStefano (Vincent), JoAnn (David-deceased) LaPadula, Sandra Merrill (John) and Lisa Brown (David); daughter-in-law, Sharon Cudlin; grandchildren, Peter, Julie, Angela, Michelle, Travis, Riley and Karlee; great-grandchildren, Tucker, Emma, and Ryan; as well as siblings, Helen Shultz and Richard Shultz (Phyllis); and many other family members.

In her younger years Ruth wanted to be a gym teacher, she was known to be quite an athlete and apparently beat her brothers at baseball. After their marriage, Ruth worked side by side with her husband Joe for many years at Cudlin's Meat Market in Newfield, NY until they retired and sold the business to their daughter and son-in-law Linda & Vince Di Stefano in 1980. Ruth was well known in the Newfield Community because of the market where many times she “held down the fort” as Joe attended various livestock auctions. After the business sold she decided to work in the Newfield High School cafeteria where she worked there for nearly 10 years.  She enjoyed interacting with and getting to know the students as they came through the lunchline. She found joy in taking care of her many hanging plants, flowering bushes, trees and enjoyed sitting under the immense shade trees in front of their house during the summers. She was also a very good cook and passed this skill onto her children and helped out whenever there was a large dinner to be presented. Ruth enjoyed spending time with her family and friends at the many campfire breakfasts and picnics that the family held at the local State parks. She was known to travel to Florida and Montana to visit her children and extended family. Her family was fortunate to have been able to celebrate an early 94th birthday for Ruth along with a belated 95th birthday for Joe this past summer. Ruth enjoyed the boat ride on Seneca Lake, floating by the Belhurst Castle, watching the sailboats skimming the lake, and even stopping to have lunch at a local dock.

Family will receive friends on Wednesday, November 2, 2022 from 10:00 am until 12:00 pm at Bangs Funeral Home, 209 W. Green Street, Ithaca, NY. Graveside services will follow at 12:30 pm at Woodlawn Cemetery, 328 Main Street, Newfield, NY. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Ruth’s name to the David Cudlin Scholarship, c/o Sharon Cudlin, 1965 County House Rd., Waterloo, NY 13165 or to the Newfield Food Pantry or to a charity of one’s choice. Online condolences may be made to Ruth’s family at www.bangsfuneralhome.com.