Jeanette Anne Prugh

Jeanette Anne (Rutherford) Prugh, age 101, passed away peacefully at her home in Lampasas with family by her side on August 30, 2025.  Jeanette was born March 5, 1924, in Knoxville, Tennessee, to Mark Houston and Lydia Ruth (Abbey) Rutherford.  After growing up in Harriman, Tennessee, and graduating from Harriman High School, Jeanette attended the University of Tennessee and Draughn's Business College in Knoxville, TN.  She worked for a wholesale automotive parts store for 9 1/2 years, then went to Washington, D.C., where she worked for the Department of the Navy for 2 years.  In 1953, she went to Tokyo, Japan, where she worked for the Army. It was there that she met and married Walter Prugh.  For the next 19 years, she concentrated on raising her family, except while living in Bangkok, Thailand, she was employed as the registrar for students at the International School in Bangkok.  In 1974, she went back to work as a secretary at Ford Hood and retired in 1992.

Jeanette enjoyed traveling around the world.  She was very intelligent and a voracious reader.  She also enjoyed beating everyone at cribbage and trivia games.  She was always a loving, kind, soft-spoken, and gentle person with a great sense of humor.

She was instrumental in the completion of the first volume of Lampasas County Texas - Its History and Its People in 1991.  She typed all the information for the book with a typewriter.  She was a past member of the Lampasas County Historical Commission.  Jeanette was a member of the First Presbyterian Church in Lampasas, where she taught Sunday school.  She served for several years as Secretary/Treasurer of the Adamsville Presbyterian Church.  While she was never a member of the Kempner Volunteer Fire Department, she performed most of the typing and secretarial work from the inception until Walter retired from the Department in 2004.  She also performed this function for their ranch in Kempner.  She served as a volunteer in the HOSTS reading program at Hanna Springs Elementary.  Along with Walter, they donated land near Taylor Creek for the Sylvia Tucker Memorial Park to the City of Kempner.

She is survived by her seven children: sons, Michael and wife Debbie Prugh of Kingsland, TX, Mark Prugh of Waynesville, MO, Matthew Prugh of Plano, TX, David and wife Teona of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Samuel and wife Rosi of San Antonio, TX and daughters, Jennifer and husband Ken Carey of Gatesville, TX and Ruth and husband Andrew Garcia, Jr. of Lampasas.

Sixteen grandchildren - Brad Prugh (Shana), Thad Prugh (Courtney), Loren Graves (Roger), Tyler Prugh (Randy), Eric Schlicke (Rosie), Travis Schlicke (Maiko), Jeanette Collins (Van), Andrew Garcia III, Marisol Garcia, Cameron Garcia (Kiana), Julie Prugh, Shannon Kostecka (David), Seth Prugh, Sofia Prugh, Enzo Prugh, and Melanie Prugh.

Fifteen great-grandchildren - Benjamin Prugh, Madeline Prugh, Mia Schlicke, Sky Schlicke, Aleksandra Mitiani, Owen Collins, Dylan Collins, Evelyn Collins, Dylan Garcia, Noah Garcia, Dorian Daugherty, Gabriella Daugherty, Kloe Garcia, Ivy Garcia, and Carson  Kostecka.

She is also survived by loving friends she considered family, Lupe, Eugenia, Luis, Kelly, Giselle, and Leonel Ruperto.

She was preceded in death by her husband of 60 years, her parents, two sisters, Josephine Reynolds and Jane Rutherford, her brother, Robert Rutherford, and great-grandson, Tyler Garcia.

The family would like to thank the wonderful caregivers who assisted in caring for Jeanette, Wrenda Mankowski, and Christy De La Cruz.

A graveside service will be conducted at Kempner Cemetery at 3 pm on Sunday, September 7, 2025.

In lieu of flowers, memorials can be made to the Lampasas County Historical Commission or the Sylvia Tucker Memorial Park, Kempner, TX.