Ruby "Gerry" Gearlene Underwood

Ruby Gearlene Gerry Underwood, 93, died Thursday, April 28, 2022, at 2:25 pm in her home with her family by her side.

Gerry was born July 13, 1928, in Elgin, Oklahoma, to Andy and Jessie Armstrong. She was the second eldest sibling to her eldest sister, Helen, and her younger brother, Glen, and her younger sisters, Evona, Vivian, and Angie. She grew up on a farm during the Depression, and told all of us stories of experiencing the dust bowl. She spoke of fond memories living on the farm, walking to school with her siblings, memorizing poetry along the way, and helping her mother with braiding her sister's hair and helping around the farm. She spoke of attending their Baptist church, and how the Lord pulled them through and blessed them in Oklahoma. She spoke of how it was a treat to have oranges and watermelons on special occasions, and how it was a rare and sweet treat for the family to enjoy.

Through a friend she met her to be husband, Donald Lee Underwood. In 1960 she was married, and they adopted their first son, Leonard Scott Underwood. Gerry always loved adventure so they locked their home up in Fremont, CA and her little family moved to Alaska for work. Her husband built army barracks for the government, and she stayed home to take care of their son, Scott. She talked about how cold Alaska was and how many feet of ice surrounded the doorframe.

Her little family eventually moved back to Fremont where she had her second son, Anthony Craig Underwood in 1964. The following year she had her first daughter, Susan Yvette Underwood. She and her family thrived in Fremont for many years as her husband built homes all throughout the Bay Area.

Eventually, the beauty of Colorado drew them in 1973, and they settled in the small town of Montrose. They established a home-building business there and recalled many memories with her husband's family who also resided in Montrose. The new generation of Underwoods grew up mostly on the same block and have many fond childhood memories with each other. We all remember Gerry's famous beehive hairstyle and knew her to be a fashion trendsetter.

The things that remind us of her is her love of books; she was an avid reader of westerns. She was known for her famous pies and biscuits and gravy amongst her grandchildren. We remember her teaching us cute little songs from the farm and from her church from when she was young. She was a warm and kind soul that always put everyone's needs before hers. She did things out of the kindness of her heart and was always full of love.

Her pride and joy were her kids. She put her whole life and heart into her family. Things that made her happy were gardening and seeing how the flowers bloomed and grow throughout her many gardens she tended to in her life. She loved popcorn, it was her favorite snack, and we could always find a puzzle on her dining room table. She talked about her love for Mexican food and how she would never forget tasting it for the first time when they moved to California.

One of her favorite things to do was to take road trips. She was known for her many trips to Mesquite and Las Vegas, and we all knew that when her hands started itching that was her sign that she'd probably win. She loved crossword puzzles, word search puzzles, and she used to carry a deck of cards in her purse for when she felt like playing solitaire. Her favorite thing to do with her family was cook for them and to play board games with them. She was also a seamstress and crocheted many blankets on many different occasions.

She loved the color pink, and all things frilly. She had a love for interior design and loved to shop, always on top of the latest trends. She loved a good movie; and westerns were her favorite. She loved going to drive-ins or going out on a drive around town then ending up at Dairy Queen for an ice cream cone. Her favorite activity was to play Bingo down at the Bingo hall.

During her past times she'd walk a lot, and she could always out-walk everyone, even in her later years. She could out work many too. She worked a full time job at 80 years old and loved it. At the end of her day, she always loved to fill up a nice big glass of ice water and sit on the patio near all of her plants. Gerry was loved immensely and will be missed by many friends and family from all around. She lays at rest at Valley Lawn Cemetery in Montrose, Colorado.