Ruth S. Salvador, a lifelong missionary, passed into the presence of her beloved Savior Jesus Christ, after a long battle with Lewy Body Dementia, on Wednesday, April 19, 2023. She was at home, surrounded by the warm embrace of her family, in El Paso, Texas. She was 91 years of age.
Ruth touched thousands during a long and fruitful career as an evangelical missionary, with a particular focus on child evangelism. She was universally beloved for her kindness, generosity, genuine empathy, guileless sense of humor, exuberant laugh, and perpetually twinkling hazel eyes. She was a fervent “church planter,” having founded churches in Mexico City; Puebla, Mexico, and Ciudad Juárez, Mexico. She did this work alongside multiple other ministries, for children, women, and the elderly. She was sponsored in her mission work by her home church, Grace Central Coast of San Luis Obispo, California (1953 - present), Child Evangelism Fellowship (1953 - 1955); Christian & Missionary Alliance (1955 - 1974); and Tecate Mission International (1966 - present.) Additionally, from 1992 - 1996 she served as the first Secretary Treasurer for Radio Manantial, the El Paso, Texas affiliate of World Radio Network.
She was born on July 22, 1931, in San Luis Obispo, California, the daughter of George Lacy Fleming II of Paris, Tennessee, and Jeanette Walker of Crossett, Arkansas. After graduating from San Luis Obispo High School in 1949, Ruth obtained a B.A. in Child Evangelism from the Bible Institute of Los Angeles (BIOLA,1952.) She subsequently obtained a graduate degree in Philosophy and Literature (Spanish) from the Universidad Autónoma de México of Mexico City (1955.) She was a fluent Spanish speaker, and enthusiastic missionary emigre in Mexico for nearly two decades. Her interest and love for the people of Mexico was sparked when as a youth she put her musical skills—in piano and accordion—in service of evangelical outreach to farm worker communities of her native California.
In 1954, Ruth met the young recently ordained Pastor whom she was to wed on December 12, 1955 in Mexico City. They were an inseparable and widely admired couple, united in their ministry and their marriage by their unshakable faith. She is survived by her husband of 67 years, Ricardo Salvador Modesto of Yatzachi el Bajo, Oaxaca, Mexico, and by their four children: James Salvador (Adriana), Miriam Salvador (Martin), Abbie Bohlin—all of El Paso—and Ricardo J. Salvador (Manuela) of Cloverly, Maryland. They were blessed with seven grandchildren and five great-grandchildren, on whom Ruth doted infinitely. Additionally, she is survived by her sisters, Naomi Rossi of Atascadero, California, and Janet Martínez of Morgan Hill, California. She was preceded in death by her parents and brother, George Lacy Fleming III of Deming, New Mexico, and sister Irma Nickerson of San Jose, California.
The family will observe a memorial celebration of life at 10:30 AM on Wednesday April 26, 2023, at Funeraria del Ángel Restlawn, 8817 Dyer St., El Paso, Texas 79904.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Grace Central Coast Mission Board (P.O. Box 33, San Luis Obispo, California 93406), and/or Tecate Mission International (P.O. Box 1000, Tecate, California 91980-1000.)
The family wishes to thank Dr. Terri Jordan, Eduardo Hennington, Marissa Soto, Raul Avila, Claudia Vasquez, Zaareth Piña, and Erica Pichardo of Hospice El Paso for their compassionate and consummately professional support for Ruth and her family.
Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.FunerariaDelAngelKM.com for the Salvador family.
