Ruby Alice Blackman

20 July 1998 — 3 October 2014

Having no words for our grief, we turn to old letters of John, Paul, and King Solomon, from the Holy Bible:

“If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. [1 Corinthians 15:42-44] So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” [2 Corinthians 4:17-18]

“Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. [1 John 4:7] God is love. [1 John 4:8] Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. [Ephesians 4:2] Love covers over all wrongs.” [Proverbs 10:12]

While our beloved Ruby Blackman’s time on Earth proved brief, her engagement with this life was vivid and rich, comprising a joyful beginning and sparkling middle, as well the rushed end.

The only daughter of Amy and Bill Blackman, the only grand- daughter of Pat and Jim Perry, the only sister of Harding, Alex, and Walter Blackman, and the only niece of Jane and Bob Perry, Ruby Alice Blackman was cherished: such a well-loved child. She entered this world with a curious heart, theatrical flair, and the perspective of a highly sensitive soul.

As a bright songbird feathers her nest, Ruby gathered found objects and little treasures into her world, and was forever in a creation process: an impromptu magic show with props and costumes, a series of doll-sized lovely rooms made of fabric scraps and glitter, art work and paintings which dazzled the eye, engaged the mind and spoke to the heart.

Ruby was a creative artist, but also an athlete, on the soccer field and on skates, and a scholar as well: a charming smart girl who could make her way in diverse academic settings. Ruby Blackman put on funny accents and made faces, she made cookies, she camped out, she rocked out, she made pottery, she wrote poetry, she laughed and cried and danced and loved and did all the other things that make up a full life.

Ruby found friends everywhere she went, and no doubt beneath the sharp edges of teenage girl drama, there was love. There is love. Like every adolescent person, Ruby was a work in progress. As we all must do, she was navigating that tricky process of “human becoming,” as described in Parse’s nursing theory. As her path unfolded, she displayed that same need for grace that we all know well: to be seen, to be heard, to be loved for exactly who we are.

As Ruby was loved, and is loved, and will be loved, always. In the words of Robert MacArthur Crawford: “Off she goes, into the wild blue yonder, climbing high, into the sun.”

Funeral service 11:00 am Wednesday, October 8, 2014 at Christ Church Cathedral with a reception to follow.

Visitation Tuesday October 7, 2014 at Christ Church Cathedral Parish Hall from 7:00-8:30 pm with a Vigil from 7:00 pm Tuesday until 7:00 am Wednesday at the church.

As an organ donor Ruby is saving the lives of 6 others.

Arrangements under the direction of Marshall Donnelly Combs Funeral Home, Nashville, Tennessee.