City of Oaks Funeral Home & Cremation
Obituary
Ruth Beacom
Raleigh, North Carolina
Age 98.
Died 08/04/2025.
Ruth Adele Hovey was born in St. Louis, MO on Nov. 12, 1926. She grew up in Mount Vernon, NY and graduated from A.B. Davis High School 1944. She attended two years at Green Mountain College in Poultney, VT and then completed an RN at Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center in New York in 1949.
Ruth married Robert K. (Bob) Beacom in 1949, and they were happily married for 57 years until his death in 2007.
Ruth and Bob had two children, Michael and Laurie, and Ruth was an active homemaker during their school years. As Bob’s job changed, the family moved from Glen Cove, NY to Wilbraham, Massachusetts, to Wiesbaden, Germany and then to Fairfax, Virginia. Following Bob’s death, Ruth moved to Magnolia Glen in Raleigh in 2009 to be close to her daughter and family. She was very happy in the community and loved her apartment in independent living.
Ruth believed strongly in the value of service, and she was a volunteer with several agencies through many years. She began as a Red Cross Bloodmobile volunteer in 1961 in Massachusetts. In Germany, she volunteered at an OB-GYN clinic and a school clinic.
After moving to Fairfax, she was very involved with the Red Cross, League of Women Voters and the Fairfax Area Agency on Aging. She served as Chairperson of the City of Fairfax TRIAD Seniors and Law Enforcement Together (SALT). On May 14, 2002, the mayor of the City of Fairfax proclaimed that day as Ruth Beacom Day to honor her volunteerism, advocacy and efforts in maintaining an independent, productive community for older Americans.
Upon her move to Magnolia Glen in Raleigh, Ruth developed many strong friendships and participated in various classes and activities. For a while, she was known as “The Litter Lady” because of the time she spent picking up debris on the side of Creedmoor Rd. She would take a trash bag and long-handled grabber on her daily walks. One day, she decided not to pick up litter because she did not have a trash bag. She said the first thing she found on her walk was a bag! For this regular cleanup activity, Ruth received a Certificate of Appreciation “in recognition of dedication and outstanding service to the Great State of North Carolina” from Gov. Pat McCrory on Sept. 25, 2014.
Ruth is survived by her son, Michael Beacom of Portland, ME and daughter, Laurie Cochran of Raleigh, NC. She is also survived by her son-in-law, Connie Cochran, two grandsons, Kevin (Lori) Cochran and Eric (Ginna) Cochran and four great-grandchildren, Aiden, Rose, Eleanor and Lily Cochran. The family will have a private ceremony of remembrance this fall. She will be greatly missed.
For additional information or for service details, please reach out to the family directly.
You can share this obituary using the following address, or click the button below to share on Facebook.
City of Oaks Cremation and Funeral Home is a full-service funeral home in Raleigh, serving all of North Carolina and beyond. We provide an alternative to costly funeral homes and every day we help families in Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill and all over North Carolina make simple, affordable funeral arrangements.
Simply having to reach out to a funeral home can feel overwhelming. Our goal is to simplify the entire funeral home experience and make the process as easy as possible. We hope to eliminate any unnecessary surprises by publishing our total cost and the services we provide directly on our website. All of our obituaries are provided free of charge as a way to help families celebrate and commemorate the lives of their loved ones.
Our Promise
Apples to Apples
Just like all other licensed funeral homes in North Carolina, City of Oaks Cremation, LLC is regulated by the NC Board of Funeral Service.
The same laws that apply to the big corporate funeral homes also apply to the modest independently owned firms like ours. All crematories in North Carolina, regardless of who owns them, are inspected annually by the state and must adhere to the same rules and laws.
Genuine Care
We're committed to providing families within our community unsurpassed service before, during and after the time of loss.
Our staff will provide clear communication to your family through each step as we move forward from the original phone call notifying us of a death to the time we deliver the urn back to your family. We will treat your family with the utmost respect, as we honor the wishes of your loved one.
We promise to make this process affordable and as endurable as possible.
State Wide
Our Funeral Home is located in Wake County NC; however, we provide our services to families throughout the entire State.
Unlike other funeral homes, we don't charge an additional mileage fee. Regardless of what county you live in, we can help your family with making simple, affordable funeral arrangements. From Asheville to Wilmington, we're proud to help families statewide.
Our Services
$1196.75
Nobody likes surprise costs added in at the last minute. We guarantee you will not find any hidden charges here. We include everything you need for a simple or direct cremation. Simple, affordable and reliable. We have not changed the cost of our direct cremation service since we opened City of Oaks in 2012.
$2875.66
We offer the option of choosing how you receive your loved ones remains. Selecting our Direct Cremation with Solidified Remains option is a beautiful way to transform cremated remains into 40-60 “stones” that you can hold.
$1917.84
City of Oaks Funeral Home and Cremation provides an affordable cremation option with onsite visitation. Nobody likes surprise costs added in at the last minute. We guarantee you will not find any hidden charges here. Simple, affordable and reliable.
$1596.75
City of Oaks Funeral Home and Cremation provides an affordable cremation with a private family viewing. A private family viewing allows up to 10 immediate family members or friends to spend time with a loved one when a public visitation is not preferred.
$2497.50
An immediate burial has the same end result as a traditional burial; however, we have eliminated the extra (sometimes unnecessary) services prior to getting to the cemetery. Not everyone wants an open casket for viewing or a limousine for the family. Despite the term immediate, we can move as fast as you need or as slow as you like. This option simply allows you to save money by eliminating some of the fancy extras at the funeral home.
$6081.48
We offer the same traditional funeral services as the big corporately owned funeral homes in the area; however, we cost about half the amount. You might consider a traditional funeral service if your family is looking for an open casket visitation, a traditional church service or a funeral service in the funeral home's chapel. A traditional funeral service can be altered to fit the needs of your family.
$3033.75
This establishment is one of a select number of funeral homes who meet the criteria for providing green funeral service by the Green Burial Council; a tax-exempt, nonprofit organization working to encourage environmentally sustainability in the field of funeral service. Our Green options allow for a funeral to take place without the use of toxic and non-biodegradable materials/chemicals.
$2640.59
As an alternative to traditional cremation, City of Oaks Funeral Home also offers Aquamation. The Aquamation process, often referred to as alkaline hydrolysis, uses a solution of water and potassium hydroxide to facilitate natural decomposition.