Ruby Lee Smith

Services will be held Wednesday for Ruby Lee Smith, who died Sept. 8 in Bakersfield at the age of 96. The daughter of Emory J. Hulett and Mollie Minyard, Ruby was born on February 22, 1914 in Newton, Texas. She and her sisters, Ruth and Ronnie, and brother, Willy, grew up in various Texas locations, where their father worked as a salesman and educator, and their mother operated boarding houses. The family eventually settled in Austin, where Ruby attended the University of Texas and became a lifelong UT supporter. Ruby loved teaching and working with children. Upon graduation from UT in 1935, she taught briefly in Texas, before moving to California in 1940, where she first worked as a substitute teacher and then as a full-time teacher in the Arvin Elementary School District. She later moved to Wayside School in Bakersfield, where she taught for 25 years until her retirement in 1974. Her marriage to Woodrow Smith in 1941 lasted 55 years, until Woodrow's death in 1996. The couple had two sons, Mark and Keith Smith, who describe Ruby as a "committed mother," who kept them involved in music, scouting and sports while they were young and on through college. Until her death, she was an ardent Bakersfield College football fan and season ticket holder. Mark also recalled that his mother was way ahead of her time regarding diet and nutrition: "From 1950 forward, she was committed to making sure her family ate a diet of the highest nutritional value, whether we liked it or not. There was never any junk food in her house. Sodas and candy were never purchased, and if there was a dessert, it was usually homemade. In her later years, she did buy ice cream, but it was soy based." Ruby was active in her church, First Baptist and later Olive Drive Church. She also was active in the Order of Eastern Star, serving as Worthy Matron Libertas Chapter. With the American Cancer Society, she drove cancer patients to appointments for many years. She enjoyed sewing and made many doll clothes for her granddaughters when they were young. Ruby is survived by her sons, Mark Smith and wife, Debi, and Keith Smith and wife, Sharon, all of Bakersfield; five grandchildren, Tessa Andrews, Randall Van Bebber, Sunshine Huffman, Jenna Hale and Lani Chevoya; and nine great grandchildren. Services will be held Wednesday at 10 a.m. in the Hillcrest Memorial Park Chapel. Graveside services will follow. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the BC Athletic Foundation, 1801 Panorama Dr., Bakersfield 93305, or the HBS Foundation, P.O. Box 1290, Lake Worth, FL. 33460. The family extends special thanks to her faithful reader Candace Gomez, her personal assistants, Delores Torres and Gloria Reyes, and the caring staff at Hallmark of Bakersfield and Lifehouse Parkview.