Ruby Lee Ellis went to be with the Lord from her home in Holdenville on Monday morning, March 19, 2018, at the age of 90 years.

Ruby was the daughter of James D. Sandefur & Minnie (Allender) Sandefur, born on July 8, 1927, in Wolf Bayou, Arkansas, where she was brought up and attended schools. In high school she began exchanging letters with Joseph Haskell Ellis, a young soldier serving overseas with the U.S. Army during World War II. The two of them became good friends from their correspondence and when they met in person for the first time, Ruby knew Haskell was the love of her life. She dropped out of school in her senior year and married Haskell on January 9, 1945, in Hot Springs, Arkansas, where he was stationed upon returning home at the end of the war.

Ruby & Haskell were blessed with three children, Marlin, Lyndle, and Laverne. They lived in the Gerty area for some twenty years before moving to Holdenville, their home since 1964. Ruby was a devoted wife and mother, and an excellent homemaker. She enjoyed sewing and was an accomplished seamstress. She loved gardening, growing and canning, making jams and jellies, cooking and baking. She was well known in the community for her marvelous cooking and she took great pleasure in sharing with family, friends, and neighbors. She loved flowers, and the black cast iron pots filled with red geraniums on her front porch consistently brightened up her corner of the neighborhood for many years. She also enjoyed working outside the home in various jobs, including the Seamprufe clothing factory in Holdenville and the Naval Ammunition Depot in McAlester. She was a dedicated and very active member of the First Church of God in Holdenville. She was much loved and will be deeply missed.

She is preceded in death by her parents, James & Minnie Sandefur; her beloved husband of 58 years, Haskell Ellis; one sister, Neva Howard, and four brothers: Adrian Sandefur, Ray Sandefur, Odus Sandefur, and Lowell Eugene Sandefur.

She is survived by three children: Marlin Ellis (Roberta) of Sand Springs, Lyndle Ellis (Mary) of Tulsa, and Laverne Ellis of Holdenville; seven grandchildren: Silas Ellis, Elizabeth Cornell, Christy Pasho, Barrett Ellis, Judy Lusk, David Wilson, and Angie Nail; nine great-grandchildren and two great-great-grandchildren; numerous nieces and nephews, other family members, and a host of friends.

Funeral services were held on Friday, March 23, 2018, 1:30 p.m. at the First Church of God in Holdenville, and Ruby was laid to rest at Holdenville Cemetery, with Rev. Jon Ewers and Mr. Bill Robinson officiating. Pallbearers were Ruby's grandsons and great grandsons: Silas Ellis, Barrett Ellis, David Wilson, Josh Altom, Landon Wilson, Jacob Nail, Baylor Nail, Caleb Nail, Max Pasho, and Cal Pasho.