Ruth Coker Burks

Quick Facts

Full Name	Ruth Coker Burks
Occupation	Funeral Director
Date Of Birth	Mar 19, 1959(1959-03-19)
Age	65
Birthplace	Hot Springs
Country	United States
Birth City	Arkansas
Horoscope	Pisces

Ruth Coker Burks Biography

Ruth Coker Burks is one of the most popular and richest Funeral Director who was born on March 19, 1959 in Hot Springs, Arkansas, United States.

Burks’ first interaction with an AIDS patient occurred in 1984, when she was visiting a friend in the hospital. Burks’ friend had cancer, so Burks spent a lot of time in the hospital. During one visit, she noticed that nurses were afraid to go into one room covered by a red bag and found out that the patient had what was then known as Gay-Related Immune Deficiency (GRID). Burks’ cousin was gay, and she had an interest in learning about the disease and was curious about the patient behind the door. She met the patient, a young man who wanted to see his mother before he died. To force his mother to hear his wishes, Burks had to threaten the mother with the publication of the man’s obituary in their hometown newspaper; even then, the mother called him a “sinner” and said that she would not see him or claim the body when he died. Burks then took over his palliative care and comforted him until his death 13 hours later. After finding a funeral home that would take his body for cremation, she buried his ashes in her family cemetery.

After that first encounter, Burks began to receive phone calls from others who needed her help, caring for over 1,000 people over the 30 or so years she worked with them. With assistance from her daughter, Burks has buried more than 40 people in her family cemetery in Hot Springs. While her charges were still alive, she helped take them to appointments, obtain medications, apply for assistance, and more. She also kept supplies of AIDS medications on hand, as some pharmacies would not carry these medications. Because of her work with people with AIDS, as she told KLRT-TV, she and her daughter were “outcasts” and crosses were burned in her yard twice. Burks received financial assistance from gay bars in Arkansas, including the Discovery Club in Little Rock: “They would twirl up a drag show on Saturday night and here’d come the money. […] That’s how we’d buy medicine, that’s how we’d pay rent. If it hadn’t been for the drag queens, I don’t know what we would have done.” In 1988, Norman Jones, owner of the Discovery Club, created Helping People with AIDS, where Burks worked for several years. During Clinton’s presidency, Burks was a White House consultant for AIDS education.

Ruth Coker Burks Net Worth

Ruth Coker Burks is one of the richest Funeral Director from United States. According to our analysis, Wikipedia, Forbes & Business Insider, Ruth Coker Burks 's net worth $5 Million. (Last Update: December 11, 2023)

Frances Ruth Coker Burks (also known as the Cemetery Angel) is a former caregiver of AIDS crisis victims and an AIDS awareness advocate based in Arkansas. During the onslaught of the AIDS epidemic in the late 1980s, she used her salary as a real estate agent to care for AIDS patients whose families and communities had abandoned them. Because of the prejudices, fears, and stigma surrounding the disease at the time, she was often the patients’ only caregiver until they eventually died. She is recognized for burying them in her own family cemetery in Hot Springs, Arkansas. She currently lives in Rogers, Arkansas.

Height, Weight & Body Measurements

Ruth Coker Burks height Not available right now. Andy weight Not Known & body measurements will update soon.

Who is Ruth Coker Burks Dating?

According to our records, Ruth Coker Burks is possibily single & has not been previously engaged. As of December 1, 2023, Ruth Coker Burks’s is not dating anyone.

Relationships Record : We have no records of past relationships for Ruth Coker Burks. You may help us to build the dating records for Ruth Coker Burks!

Facts & Trivia

Andy Ranked on the list of most popular Funeral Director. Also ranked in the elit list of famous people born in United States. Ruth Coker Burks celebrates birthday on March 19 of every year.