Ruth E. Hornor-Stiger, 88, died after a short but courageous battle against cancer at her daughter's home in New Jersey on July 19, 2026.

Ruth was born August 24, 1937, in Juliustown, NJ to the late Clarence M. and Edna M. (Stackhouse) Fowler. Upon graduation from Pemberton Township High School in 1955, Ruth married Thomas Hornor, Jr. and began assisting in the management of the family's general store and serving as a part-time clerk of the United States Postal Service (USPS) in Juliustown, all while growing their family. Tom Hornor, Jr. died in 1970, leaving Ruth to raise their two daughters while continuing her career with the USPS. Ruth succeeded her deceased husband as the Postmaster of the Juliustown, NJ Post Office in 1970, beginning, as she often stated, a career and travel beyond the dreams of a small-town country girl.

Ruth was promoted to Postmaster at Pemberton, NJ in 1975 and named Postmaster at Mount Holly, NJ in 1979. She was Officer-in-Charge at Virginia Beach and Hampton, VA in 1981, followed by Acting Manager of Distribution at the USPS South Jersey Sectional Center in 1983. Later in 1983, she was Acting Director of Customer Service at the Buffalo, NY USPS Sectional Center, then back to the South Jersey Sectional Center when she was promoted to the Director of Customer Service. In 1985, she was Officer-in-Charge and Acting Sectional Center Manager at Duluth, MN. She was appointed the first female Postmaster and MSC Manager at Youngstown, OH also in 1985, where she was in charge of the Sectional Center and 125 post offices. While in Youngstown, Ruth was named Boss of the Year by the Youngstown O-My-O Chapter of the American Business Women's Association. She also became the first female member of the Youngstown, OH Rotary International Chapter and one of the first women members of Rotary International in the United States. Ruth later became the Postmaster and MSC Manager at Toledo, OH.

During her career with the USPS, Ruth attended college at Burlington County College in NJ and University of Virginia Colgate-Darden Graduate School of Business Administration.

In addition to her management experience with the USPS, Ruth served on several major committees within that organization, including a task force at Postal headquarters in Washington, D.C. that established postmaster salary levels, and served three years on the Postmaster Selection Board at Eastern Regional Headquarters in Philadelphia, PA. She was elected three years as the President of the NJ Branch of the National League of Postmasters, for which she also served as Secretary-Treasurer. She received the NJ State Postmaster of the Year Award and in 1977 was awarded the National Postmaster of the Year by the National League of Postmasters.

Both long-time widowed, Ruth met her second husband, Chief Warrant Officer 4 Thomas Stiger, on a military transport plane enroute to an Ohio Army National Guard mission to build schools and hospitals for the mentally ill in Jamaica. It was a match made in heaven, leading to marriage, retirement, relocation to Oklahoma and the busy second chapter to a wonderful life.

Ruth's commitment to her career extended to her community. In her early years, she served as treasurer of the Juliustown United Methodist Church and as church organist. She is a Past Matron of Mosaic Chapter #202, Order of the Eastern Star, and was heavily involved in the Bessie M. Lippincott Chapter of the Deborah Hospital Foundation. After her retirement, Ruth and Tom relocated to Lawton, Oklahoma where she volunteered for many years to the Salvation Army and served as president of its women's auxiliary. She was heavily involved in the Boulevard of Lights in Lawton, the Salvation Army Boys and Girls Club, and the Pecan Valley Homeowners Association.

Ruth loved to travel. She was an enthusiastic RVer journeying far and wide with friends and family. Ruth visited all 50 US states, Germany, the Baltic Sea Countries, Columbia, South America, Central America where she traveled through the Panama Canal, Mexico, Canada, Russia and many Caribbean Islands. Her favorite place was the Jersey Shore.

Ruth is survived by devoted daughters Mary Irvine (Cal) of Juliustown, NJ and Susan Malena of Altus, OK; grandchildren Rachel Lake (James Street), Thomas Malena, Amber Redondo (Matthew), Heath Irvine (Anne Ferrell); and great-grandchildren Noah Street, Gabriella and Mia Redondo, and Penelope and Violet Irvine. She is also survived by her beloved nieces and nephews. She is preceded in death by her first husband Thomas Hornor, Jr, by husband Thomas L. Stiger, granddaughter Candice L. Irvine; brothers Norman, Francis, and Delbert Fowler; and sisters Ada South and Ann Salisbury.

Family and friends are invited to a viewing and visitation Wednesday, July 29, 2026, 6 – 8 p.m., at Becker-Rabon Funeral Home, 1502 Fort Sill Blvd, Lawton, Oklahoma. A service will be held Thursday, July 30, 2026, 9:30 a.m. at Becker-Rabon Funeral Home with burial following at 11:00 a.m. at Fort Sill National Cemetery, Elgin, Oklahoma. The service may be viewed by following the livestream link at www.beckerfuneral.com or by visiting the Becker-Rabon Funeral Home Facebook page. A memorial service will be held in NJ on Sunday, August 16, 2026, 1:00 p.m. at O'Connor's, 1383 Monmouth Rd., Eastampton Township, NJ 08060.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Deborah Hospital Foundation, 212 Trenton Rd., Browns Mills, NJ 08015 or the American Cancer Society, PO Box 6704, Hagerstown, MD 21741.