Ruth Ernesteen Mills

Ruth Ernesteen Mills passed into eternal life on December 30, 2014 of cardiac arrest. Born in Ellis County on April 21, 1924 to Ernest and Eula Heard, she spent her early childhood in East Texas. She attended Forest Avenue High School in Dallas and received valedictorian honors. After attending business school, Ernesteen had the pleasure of working for Dallas County District Attorneys Will Wilson and Henry Wade, independent oil operators Fox and Butler, and retired after many years of service with the Estate of John R. Black. In 1939, she married John W. Daugherty and moved to Grand Prairie where Mr. Daugherty later served as Mayor. They raised two daughters together in Grand Prairie, Ouida and Patricia. After the death of John Daugherty, she married insurance executive, Johnnie Mills, in 1966. Mr. Mills died in 2004. In addition to her parents and husbands, Ernesteen was preceded in death by three sisters: Ouida Garrison, Joan Johnston, and Sarah Nasiatka, and also by son-in-law E. Carlyle Smith, Jr. A loving and doting mother, Ernesteen’s sweet disposition, charming smile, and wry sense of humor endeared her to many friends. May light perpetual shine upon her. Survivors: Daughters Ouida Smith and Patricia Thompson; son-in-law Lee W. Thompson III; nieces Marcy Beach, Joan Nasiatka, and Lisa Nasiatka; nephews Jeff Gentry, Jr., Lynn Motley, Ken Smith, David Davie, Robert Johnston and James Johnston. Memorial Service will be held in the Chapel of Bean-Massey-Burge Funeral Home on Beltline Road in Grand Prairie at 2:00 pm, Friday, January 23, 2015. Interment will be private. In lieu of flowers, please consider: E. Carlyle Smith, Jr. Health Clinic, c/o Parkland Foundation, 2777 N. Stemmons Freeway, Suite 1700, Dallas, Texas 75207, or the charity of your choice.