Ruby Nell Johnson Owens died December 2 at Autumn Care Nursing Home in Madison VA. She leaves behind her son, Chris, of Charlottesville VA, a grandson, Gage Gober, of Dallas GA, an adopted family including Rafe Body of Gadsden, Anita Mobley of Southside, Carolyn Garbe of Gadsden, Michelle Garbe of Rainbow City, Pam Hutchison of Glencoe, Justin and Jonathon Lowe of Southside, an adopted sister, Carolyn Owens of Rainbow City, and a sister-in-love, Frances Johnson Powell of Attalla.
Ruby was born on Armistice Day, 1925, to Mitchell Andrew Johnson and Ella Mae Carroll Johnson, the 10th of 11 children, just off of Tabor Road, near McCauley’s Chapel. She married her Springville High School sweetheart, Dwight L. Owens, in March of 1944 when Dwight came home on leave after his basic training in Los Angeles and prior to him shipping out with his Engineer battalion to the Pacific Theater.
After nearly 2 years of separation due to WWII, they settled in Gadsden’s Walnut Park. Her daughter, the late Patsy Owens Gober, was born in 1954 with son, Chris, following in 1962. After Dwight’s untimely death in 1975, she struggled to raise her 12 year old son and help Patsy raise Gage and the late Mikie Gober. Combining her small hourly wages with some of the insurance proceeds Dwight left her for emergencies, she was able to pay for most of the boy’s school clothes and fees and their ball uniforms and equipment while Patsy finished college at Jacksonville State as well as to put Chris through 4 years of school at Samford University, and yet continued to responsibly tithe to her church. Ruby retired from Kmart and remained an active member of Bellevue Baptist Church and the Alabama Gas retirees. She moved to Virginia in 2007 to be with Chris.
Chris would like to thank a few of the people and organizations that helped his mom since her arrival in Virginia. A special thanks to the kind and caring staff of Autumn Care Nursing Home for their dedication, to Legacy Hospice for their assistance in Mom’s dignified transition, to PACE of the Blue Ridge, Jefferson Area Board for the Aging, and Jaunt for your prior supervision and guidance of Mom, to Palmyra United Methodist Church, especially Pastor George Gordon and Isabell Karmondy, for visiting Mom and lifting us both up in prayer, to University Baptist Church, Charlottesville, especially the Sanctuary Choir, Betty Barker, Lou Long, Nat and Margie Howell, and Pam and Alba Beasley, thank you for years of support and assistance for Mom and me, and to all of Mom’s family and friends who frequently called, wrote letters of encouragement, and took time out of their busy schedules to come and visit.
Graveside services are Tuesday, December 11, at 1:00 at Crestwood Cemetery, Gadsden. Reverend Larry Furman officiating and Reverend Roger Graham assisting. In lieu of flowers, please donate to Samford University, Friends of Music (https://www.samford.edu/arts/) or by sending a check to the School of the Arts, 800 Lakeshore Drive, Birmingham AL 35242. Any monies donated will be used to provide help to Music students in financial need.
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