Mattie Ruth Bell Gatlin

Mattie Ruth Bell Gatlin, 91, died while in Baptist Reynolds Hospice House, on March 30, 2023. The love of her life, Luther Elbert Gatlin, Jr., preceded her in death, almost two years ago, at the age of 92. This past March 8 would have been their 71st anniversary.

Ruth, born in Memphis, TN, in 1931, spent 12 years at Messick High School, attended Memphis State, and was a lifelong Memphian. Her anecdotes of old Memphis, with Peabody high school proms and Cotton Carnival floats, painted beautiful mind pictures. She twinkled while sharing the embarrassment of falling off of the top of a float while gluing on flowers in the pre-dawn hours, or of being thrown around the dance floor in a Charlestonesque flurry. Fondly, she told old stories of mother and daughter, sweat pouring and gloves sticky, running around downtown Memphis boutiques, Ruth’s sketch pad in hand, as she drew arms from one dress, a skirt from another, and so on, that she could incorporate into her own design for her mother to then use in the creation of a “Ruth’s Original” gown.

A remarkable woman, Ruth worked as a medical secretary in her early adult years, and later volunteered for Memphis School for the Deaf, Memphis City Schools’ inner city programs for at risk children, and for Each One Teach One where she taught adults to read. In her early fifties, Ruth surprised the family with the news that not only had she been taking vocational education classes, but also that she had secured a job with Lakeside Hospital as a medical transcriptionist. In her last years, she boldly proclaimed that Christ was the foundation upon which she had built her entire life, and she grieved that so many, particularly in present day America, were unaware of the necessity of God for our country. She, like her husband, was a patriot.

Ruth loved drawing inspiration from watching cardinals, robins, sparrows, doves—really, from any and all birds. An artist, as well as a gardener, Ruth also adored flowers, and relished sharing her knowledge of how to best tend each one. Skillfully, she could turn the everyday minutia into creations of warmth, of beauty. Her home was filled with the chords of the classics such as Chopin, Beethoven, or even soulful hymns steeped in America’s heritage, for she was a classically trained pianist.

Known for her straight-forward talk and incisive commentary on most any topic, she was a force, a never-ending advocate for her children, for all in her family, for she considered their needs above her own. Whether as a Sunday School teacher running the children’s department at Park Ave. Cumberland Presbyterian Church, as an award-winning president of the PTA, or as a gourmet cook whose meals were legendary, Ruth’s priorities were evident. She managed to fit in all her girls’ activities and, too many, she was known as the neighborhood chauffeur.

A horrible blind date with her future husband, unexpectedly, led to an abundant life and a 69 year marriage. Mrs. Gatlin leaves three daughters, Linda Dianne Gatlin, Sandra Gatlin King (Mark), and Janice Gatlin Stacy (Jimmy). AKA Mamoo, Ruth adored her three grandchildren: Heather Marie Downes, Samuel Gatlin Pascale, and Hallie Grace Pascale. She is preceded in death by her parents Roscoe Allen Bell and Hallie Corrine May Bell, as well as by her siblings: Charles Lee Bell, Dorothy Lucille Bell, and Virginia Carolyn Bell Frazier.

Visitation will be held at Collierville Funeral Home, 3863 Bailey Station Road, Collierville, TN, on Friday, April 7 at 1:00 followed by a funeral service at 2:00. Burial will follow at Memphis Memory Gardens on Raleigh LaGrange Rd. Memorial contributions may be made to Memphis Union Mission or to NAMI.