Ruby Marie Kingery Ely was born on April 27, 1931 in Corning, Iowa to Noah Henry and Winnie Hanes Kingery. In Iowa, she and her two brothers rode a horse to school. She and her oldest brother Richard rode in the saddle and Robert rode behind the saddle. On certain days each week, they pulled a cart filled with hay behind the horse for a weekly supply of hay so the horse could eat while they were in school.
When she was almost 8, her family moved to Seymour, which by that time included 3-month-old Roma. They lived in various houses in the Seymour area, and never very long at any one place, as her father seemed to possess a pioneer spirit. They lived close to Finley Falls and to the Wright-Webster County line on Highway V; she claimed that she had lived in 16 places by the time she was 18. When she was 11, there was no one to teach the “Card Class” at church, the preschool children, so she was appointed teacher. Her mother was passionate about education, whether it be at public school or proper religious training, and Ruby began her lifelong passion for teaching, and was able to finish high school by taking care of an elderly lady in Seymour. She then completed 10 hours of college, which was adequate to become a school teacher. While staying with church friends, she was told about a country school in Wright County needing a teacher, Little Creek School. Since it was her pastor and his wife who brought her to talk with the school board, they were all interested in the local church, Little Creek Baptist Church. She was hired to teach and she attended church. The first time she attended, a local young man named Ray Ely asked her on a date. They were married eight months later. She only taught Little Creek School one year, but some of her students now have great-grandchildren.
After their marriage, she moved to the farm with him and only moved once for the rest of her life, across the road into a newer house. Ray’s mom and dad bought the farm in 1921, and about 1945, they built a new house. When Ray and Ruby got married in 1949, needing their own house, they had to clean out the “old house” to live in. That would be their home for 50 years until his mom and dad passed away. In 1952, twin sons, Donald Ray and Ronald Lee, were born to Ray and Ruby, and she claims they were the delight of her life. They always made church attendance top priority and Ruby was always teaching a children’s class. She has taught in Bible School many years multiple churches for over 70 years and spanning four generations. She also went on several mission trips to Colorado and Canada. She was a devoted mother, and even handmade all the shirts for Ron and Don, Ray, her father-in-law and all the dresses for her mother-in-law and herself. She started sewing out of necessity and later became her hobby, and had made countless items for numerous friends and relatives, including over 200 quilts and over 170 lap robes for nursing homes and Newborns in Need. She never simply watched TV she always sewed or crocheted while watching, always busy. When Ron and Don started to college, she began working in the Library at Hartville Elementary School. She still wanted to teach, and began taking a class on TV from Drury. She soon began taking classes in Springfield and one semester even lived on campus. We wondered if she might try out to be a cheerleader! After graduation, she was hired at Hartville Elementary School and taught different grades for 17 years.She accepted Christ as her Savior as a teenager and was a devoted follower and a member of the Little Creek Baptist Church. They also were members of Hartville First Baptist for 40 years. She loved sewing, reading, quilting, crocheting and even painting pictures. Her greatest desire was to see people accept the Lord. She was a member of Hartville Garden Club and Missouri Retired Teachers’ Association.
Ruby Ely passed away on Sep. 29, 2020, surrounded by family at her home and is preceded in death by all her brothers and sisters, Richard, Robert and Raymond Kingery, and Roma Brown and her husband, Ray. She is survived by her sons Don (Jacqueline) and Ron (Beverly); six grandchildren, Danna (Ron) Fields, Dawnell (Keith) Grant, Danae (Aaron) Stevens, Chris (Brandi) Ely, Mike (Trish) Ely and Aaron (Rachel) Ely; 12 great-grandchildren, Warner Fields, Brenlee Fields, Madden Fields, Isaac Stevens, Molly Grant, Jack Grant, Ruby Grant, Devin Ely, Brendan Ely, Andrew Ely, Bentley and Cyrus Ely; as well as innumerable friends whose lives have been impacted positively by the extraordinary life of Ruby Ely. Services were held on Sunday, Oct. 4, 2020 at 2 p.m. at Little Creek Baptist Church in Hartville with the Rev. Joel Childress and the Rev. Dick Wakefield. Music included “It is Well with my Soul” by Wintley Phipps; grandson Aaron Ely singing “His Eye is on the Sparrow;” “Because He Lives” by Elvis Presley; and “How Great Thou Art” by George Beverly Shea on DVD. The final resting place was in Little Creek Cemetery in Hartville. Escorts were Chris Ely, Aaron Ely, Keith Grant, Michael Ely, Ron Field and Aaron Stevens. Holman-Howe Funeral Homes in Hartville handled the arrangements.
