Ruby was born August 2, 1931 in Boise, Idaho. She weighed 3 pounds, while her older twin sister, Ruth, weighed 4 pounds. The doctor who delivered the twins wanted to adopt the babies. Grandma Mary Jane wouldn't have it. She put the babies in a shoe box and stayed by the stove feeding them goats milk every hour. When the twins were old enough to go to school, the first day the girls cried, all day long. When one twin would stop crying the other twin would take over. They lived on a corner close to the school and their mother could hear them crying all the way from the school. In spite of the horrible treatment given to left handed children, who were consistently slapped with a ruler when not writing correctly, Ruby became very talented with her hands. Her children watched Ruby create beautiful ceramics. She was so accomplished that she won the Freddy Award, the highest award given for Hobby Ceramics. Growing up, her children watched her create beautiful arrangements for "My Favorite Things" flower shop, which shipped arrangements worldwide. She was an expert in the use of potpourri, silk flowers, dried flowers, and pine cones. During many nights, in the shed, near the back of her house, she would continue working on arrangements she brought home from work, while creating wedding floral arrangements for her business 'Blossom's by Ruby. Janee came to Grandma Ruby's with a friend and informed her that "Grandma lives in this shed and Grandpa lives over there in the gray house." At that time, she also served in the Spanish Extraction Mission for several years, which she dearly loved. Verl, her husband of 39 years, she met at the Rollerdome at the regional skating championship. While growing up, Ruby had attended the Nazarene church with her mother every Sunday. A few years later, on a lovely Sunday morning, when Judy and Paul were very young, Ruby woke up and said "Verl, what church are we going to, yours or mine?" Verl jumped out of bed and they went to his church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. How can we, her children, thank her enough for taking the missionary discussions and accepting the gospel. This became the foundation of her life. She was faithful and true to the testimony of the Savior all her life. Ruby taught her children the commandments and to never say a bad word. Her children knew the taste of soap. Ruby started to have occasional bouts of what we all thought was the flu. And when it became worse, we thought it was food poisoning and then she started passing out. During the same time, Verl had not been feeling well either. Verl suddenly became seriously ill and passed away April, 17, 1989. Verls passing turned Ruby's world upside down. Both Verl and Ruby were only 58 at the time of Verls passing. She was able to resettle from the 10th Ward, Nampa South Stake, to a small trailer in the Nampa Stake, 4th Ward and made a lovely home. Four years later, she went on a mission serving in the Florida Jacksonville Mission. Going on a mission was one of the desires of her heart and she had a memorable time. She came home from her mission and served weekly in the Boise Idaho LDS Temple for several years. 12 years after Verl passed away, she met Bill E. Berry. She shocked us all when she dated Bill for one week, became engaged the second week, and married Bill the third week, on January 29, 2000. Bill and Ruby resided in Boise for a few years and were able to travel to a lot of places and went on a cruise. When 9/11 happened, they were scheduled to go on another cruise, which never took place. Their health began to deteriorate. When Bill broke his hip, his health continuously declined. They moved to Nampa to be closer to family and it was a blessing that we were able to care for them in their later years. Ruby started passing out. She did this four times in one month, which alarmed us. We took her to the doctor for an MRI and found out she had a brain tumor. This tumor was in the area that effects emotions. The neurologist said that this was the best kind to have since she would not care about anything and be happy. Bill passed away March 9, 2016. As the tumor progressed and her health declined, she became very childlike. She developed a very sweet spirit and expressed her joy and happiness until April 5, 2018 when she graduated into eternal life. Ruby will be missed and her example and love for the gospel and her family is her legacy. The family would like to Thank Compassus Hospice members Deborah Dansie RN, Tonya, and Kirsten for their wonderful care. Services will be held at 11:00 a.m. Tuesday, April 17 at the Nampa South Stake Center, 7809 Deer Flat Rd in Nampa. A viewing will be held from 6-8 p.m. Monday, April 16 at Zeyer Funeral Chapel, 83 N Midland Blvd, Nampa and again at the church from 10-10:45 a.m. prior to the services.
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