Ruby Fern Johnson

Ruby Fern Johnson - woman of faith, woman of strength, woman of love - passed through death to life on Sunday, January 18, 2015. She was 96 years old.

Ruby Fern Woods was born on July 21, 1918, in Carter, Oklahoma to Ervin C. Woods and Georgianna Winsor Woods. She came of age in Steinbeck's Oklahoma, but the Woods family did not flee the Dust Bowl. She learned to pull cotton on Gertrude and Guy Thurman's farm, her sister and brother-in-law, and Guy taught her to love and follow Jesus. Ruby Fern was active in the Churches of Christ for the rest of her life, contributing greatly to congregations in Roosevelt, OK; Oxnard, CA; Cabot, AR; Antioch, CA; and Nashville, TN.

Ruby Fern struggled in school until her sister Gertrude recognized that she could not see. Fitted with glasses, she rose to the top of her 8th grade class. She was very proud of her perfect attendance record, and spent a sick day on the cot in the nurse's office to preserve it. Ruby Fern graduated from Granite High School in 1936 where she played basketball and tennis. Though times were lean, she continued her studies with the financial support of her brother, Virgil, at Southwestern State Teachers College in Weatherford, Oklahoma, working for her room and board at a boarding house. Ruby Fern graduated with a degree in business, and began teaching, telling at least one principal in an interview that it shouldn't matter whether she was married or not.

Ruby Fern moved to Roosevelt to teach at Roosevelt High School, and it was there that Dewey Roscoe Johnson caught her eye. She made sure that he noticed her too, and the couple married on April 6, 1943. Ruby Fern taught business and English, sponsored the yearbook, coached basketball, sponsored the senior class, and did whatever else was asked of her. She stayed connected with the students from Roosevelt, attending the reunion well into her 80's, and received many thank you letters from students who credited her with giving them the foundation for life-long success in their careers.

In Roosevelt, Ruby Fern and Dewey welcomed the birth of their three children. Dewita Kaye was born in December 18, 1947. On June 21, 1949, Ruby Fern barely survived the car accident that killed her daughter and only child. This event, while pivotal, did not dull her drive or determination to live her own way. Against doctors' advice, Ricky Lynn was born a year later in June 1950. They welcomed their youngest son, Dewey Kent, in October of 1955. Ruby Fern continued teaching after the birth of her children, again supported by family as her sister-in-law, Opal, provided child care.

In 1956, the family moved to California, living in Santa Paula before settling in Oxnard in 1959. Ruby Fern taught in the Oxnard Union High School District at the Oxnard High School and Rio Mesa High School campuses and won the "Teacher of the Year" award in 1977. She often reminisced about how she enjoyed teaching remedial English, because in her class students began again to believe that they could learn. Ruby Fern and Dewey were active members of the Oxnard Church of Christ, where both of their sons met their future wives, Virginia and Susan Bean.

Ruby Fern retired from teaching and the couple moved to Cabot, Arkansas in 1979 to be near Rick and Virginia after Dewey's diagnosis of Primary Lateral Sclerosis. Even in retirement, Ruby Fern was ever the teacher - diagramming sentences for her grandchildren, editing papers for the preacher, and writing letters to the editor of the local paper. As Dewey's health deteriorated, Ruby Fern cared for his needs herself, never betraying fatigue. She repaid the kindness her family had given her, caring for her grandchildren so that Virginia could teach.

In 1987, Dewey, her husband of 44 years, passed from this life. In 1990, Rick and Virginia moved to Texas, and Ruby Fern stayed in Cabot, Arkansas to continue serving in the church and fostering relationships that had strengthened over the last decade. She was a frequent stop for travelers passing through central Arkansas, often serving a hot breakfast of eggs, bacon, and whole wheat muffins. Ruby Fern was instrumental in founding the Friend's House soup kitchen at the Cabot Church of Christ, a ministry that serves the poor in Cabot to this day. She was a faithful friend, giving a listening ear and a loving heart to ease the suffering of others and maintaining relationships with those who moved on, first by letter and later by email.

She lived in Cabot until 2010 when she moved to Antioch, California to be near Rick and Virginia. Her time back in California was brief, but she touched lives with her generosity and tenacity. After Rick passed away in March of 2010, Ruby Fern moved to Nashville to be near Kent and Susan. Here she once again became neighbors with Ruby Bean, the mother of her daughters-in-law, and the friendship that began sixty years ago in Oxnard, CA came full circle. Ruby Fern continued to offer help to her community, and could often be seen walking the hallways, delivering mail to those who were less mobile. She enjoyed living close to her grandchildren and great-grandchildren in her final years.

Ruby Fern is survived by her son and daughter-in-law, Kent and Susan Johnson; her daughter-in-law Virginia Johnson; her grandchildren Jennifer Johnson Leung, Jeremy Johnson, Russell Johnson, Randi Johnson, and Ryan Johnson; 10 great grandchildren; and many nieces, nephews, great nieces, and great nephews. She is preceded in death by her husband, Dewey Johnson; daughter, Dewita Kaye Johnson; son, Rick Johnson; brother, Virgil Woods; and sisters Gertrude Thurman, Opal French, and Cordia Mae Jackson.

Celebration of Life for Ruby Fern will be on Saturday, January 31 at 1:00pm in Hobart, OK at Ray & Martha's Funeral Home Chapel, 306 W. 11th, Hwy 9, Hobart, OK 73651. Interment will follow at the Roosevelt Cemetery, Roosevelt, OK 73564.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Spastic Paraplegic Foundation whose mission is to one day diagnose, treat and cure all individuals with HSP or PLS. Dewey suffered from the effects of PLS (Primary Lateral Sclerosis) in his later years, and the foundation was close to her heart. The web address for donations is:
http://www.sp-foundation.org