Naomi Ruth Riddle

Naomi Ruth Riddle died in Evansville on September 1, 2026. She was 80. Born on November 21, 1945, with Midwest roots that shaped the table more than the flag. She learned early that a day is something you finish, not something you wait for. She routed fear and good news through a headset that became part of her posture. Doctors called her by first name; families called her when they did not know who else to ask. Colleagues still mention a headset she wore like a second hairdo. She married Clyde in 1969. They kept a house that stayed modest when the neighborhood did not. They raised a son through public schools and ordinary weather. After Clyde died in 2019, she kept the routines that still made sense: the walk, the garden, the Sunday call. Neighbors remember someone who swept the sidewalk past the property line when weather had been unfair. She liked early mornings before the heat or the noise. She died in Evansville, among streets she never needed to explain. The porch still expects a returning step.