She was born in the Buford Community of Mitchell County on August 2, 1929 to Jewrystone Perry Smith and Julia Elizabeth Birmingham Smith.
Vivian was a strong woman shrouded in kindness and the grace of God. From a young age she knew that she was here to show unending love to God and her family. Vivian grew up on a cotton farm where she learned what hard work and the love of family meant. She also learned to care for animals, of which she had a special friend in a donkey named Jack. When Vivian was 15 and the war was in full bloom she had the responsibility of driving her father to work at the cotton compress as well as running errands for the family. This deep love and commitment for family extended throughout her whole life, as her family would decline in health, whether it was her parents, her aunts, or a husband she was there by their side giving them comfort and compassion in their final days. Vivian was a graduate of Colorado High Class of 1947. After school she held many jobs, she was a school-bus driver, a police dispatcher, a care taker and the executive director for the Colorado City Housing Authority for many years.
Vivian held a special love for God and her church family at Oak Street Baptist Church of which she was a life member. At a young age she became a committed Christian Woman. She started sharing her love of Christ at the age of 17 teaching Sunday School Class to other teenagers. Vivian also enjoyed being a hostess to others as she was very outgoing and loved people, and people loved her, they would come to visit and the next thing they knew they had a wonderful meal for their conversations. Her kindness and compassion will be remembered by many in the area.
She is survived by her son Terry Keith Ruddick of Colorado City, her daughter Donna Kaye Hill of Paducah Kentucky, by her grandchildren; Tiffany Ruddick of McKinney, Wayne Ruddick of Bay City, Kelley Aldridge of Clinton Kentucky, SSgt Cody Hill of Fort Campbell Kentucky, Wendy Neptune of Italy, Allyson Ruddick of Frisco Texas, Katie Byassee of Arlington Kentucky, and Rainne Ruddick of Colorado City, as well as by 9 great-grandchildren.
She was preceded in death by her parents, by her 1st husband Everett Lee Ruddick, by her second husband Albert “Junior” Beights, by a son Perry Lee Ruddick, by a granddaughter Stephanie Elaine Ruddick, and by her siblings Carroll Smith, Forrest Smith, Alvin Smith, Loyd Smith, Cecil Smith, Opal Alexander, Hazel Smith, and Velma Smith.
A funeral service for Vivian will be held on Tuesday, April 16th at 2pm at the Oak Street Baptist Church, burial will follow in the Colorado City Cemetery. The family will be present for a visitation on Monday, April 15th from 6-8 pm at Kiker Seale Funeral Home.
In lieu of flowers please consider memorial contributions in her memory to the Oak Street Baptist Church of Colorado City or to Houses for Healing in Abilene www.housesforhealing.com
Those wishing may share a memory by visiting www.kikerseale.com
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