SMYRNA - Lyda S. Ruckman, of Smyrna, and formerly of West Grove, Pa., passed away on Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2014. She was 89. She was born in Philadelphia on March 6, 1924 to the late Mildred (Gibble) and Maurice Schloss. She was a 1942 graduate of Frankford High School and worked during the war for the RAF in Philadelphia. In 1944, Lyda met her future husband, Melvin F. Ruckman, an infantryman who was stationed in Ft. Dix, N.J. Upon his return from Europe and during his training for the invasion of Japan, they were married in May of 1945. During the early years of her marriage, she worked for Suburban Propane until her son was born in 1958. Upon her husband's death in 1981, Lyda learned to drive at the age of 56 and went back to work as a switchboard operator for the Southern Chester County Physicians Answering Service in West Grove, Pa. After retirement, she sold her home on Evergreen Street and moved into Luther House in Jennersville, Pa. Due to health issues, Lyda moved to a nursing home in Smyrna to be near her son and family. In addition to her husband and parents, she was preceded in death by her brother, Wayne Schloss; and a sister-in-law, Helen Tkacz. She is survived by her only child, Jeffrey (Nicole) Ruckman; two grandchildren, Christopher (Carli) Ruckman, and Victoria Ruckman; a brother, Eugene Tkacz; and a sister-in-law, Mary Schloss. Services will be 1 p.m., Saturday Feb. 1, 2014 at West Grove United Methodist Church, 300 N. Guernsey Road, West Grove, Pa. Burial will be in the West Grove Friends Meeting House Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests that contributions be sent to the American Cancer Society, 92 Reads Way, New Castle, DE 19720; or to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, 262 Danny Thomas Pl, Memphis, TN 38105. To send a condolence, please visit www.matthewsbryson.com Arrangements are by Matthews-Bryson Funeral Home and Cremation Services, Smyrna.