Jeanette Anne (Rutherford) Prugh, 101, died peacefully at her home in Lampasas on Aug. 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.
She worked for a wholesale automotive parts store for 9½ years, then went to Washington, D.C., where she worked for the Department of the Navy for two years.
In 1953, she went to Tokyo, Japan, where she worked for the Army. It was there she met and married Walter Prugh. For the next 19 years, she concentrated on raising her family, except while living in Bangkok, Thailand, where 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 Fort Hood and retired in 1992.
Jeanette enjoyed traveling around the world. She was intelligent and a voracious reader. She also enjoyed beating everyone at cribbage and trivia games. She was a loving, kind, soft-spoken and gentle person with a great sense of humor.
Jeanette was instrumental in 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 also was a member of First Presbyterian Church in Lampasas, where she taught Sunday school. She served for several years as secretary/treasurer of the Adamsville Presbyterian Church.
Although she was never a member of the Kempner Volunteer Fire Department, she performed most of the typing and secretarial work from the department’s inception until Walter retired from the volunteer 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 School.
The couple donated land near Taylor Creek to the city of Kempner for creation of the Sylvia Tucker Memorial Park.
Jeanette is survived by her seven children: sons Michael and wife Debbie Prugh of Kingsland, Mark Prugh of Waynesville, Missouri, Matthew Prugh of Plano, Texas, David and wife Teona of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Samuel and wife Rosi of San Antonio, Texas, and daughters Jennifer and husband Ken Carey of Gatesville, and Ruth and husband Andrew Garcia Jr. of Lampasas.
She also has 16 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; and 15 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 was preceded in death by her husband of 60 years; two sisters, Josephine Reynolds and Jane Rutherford; her brother, Robert Rutherford; and a great-grandson, Tyler Garcia.
A graveside service will be conducted at Kempner Cemetery at 3 p.m. on Sept. 7. Sneed-Carnley Funeral Chapel has charge of arrangements.
Memorials may be made to the Lampasas County Historical Commission or the Sylvia Tucker Memorial Park in Kempner.
