Ruby Meredith Obituary

Ruby Evelyn LeNeve, the only child of Henry Romanus and Mary Susie Estella (Main) LeNeve, was born at home in Kansas City, Missouri April 28, 1923. Ruby grew up in southern California graduating from Garfield High School in East Los Angeles.

After high school she attended Graceland College in Lamoni, Iowa. Following graduation from Graceland she attended and graduated from Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois.

Ruby married Forrest Oren Henson early in 1943. Oren served in the Army Air Corps during World War II. Though his plane and crew were never found, after the war he was declared dead on the date his plane was shot down, December 21, 1943.

After the war Ruby met and married Glenn Anthony Motta in 1946. For a short time they lived in Chicago and then relocated to Kansas. Ruby worked for the University of Kansas in Lawrence and had a radio program at the school's radio station. They left Kansas and moved to Tuscola, Illinois where Glenn worked for USI Chemical Company. During those years Ruby raised their two children, Russell Anthony and Glenda Michelle. Along with Glenn, Ruby developed a passion for antique collecting while they lived in Tuscola that would last throughout her life. She worked as a news correspondent for the News-Gazette in Champaign-Urbana and then went back to school at the University of Illinois to obtain her teaching certificate.

Ruby taught at Tuscola Community High School and also directed the class plays during their time in Tuscola. When the family moved to El Centro, California Ruby started teaching at Central Union High School and also directed plays for the Spartans. She stayed at Central until she retired. Throughout the years she felt blessed to have so many wonderful students and fellow staff members to work with.

When they retired Ruby and Glenn moved to Cortez, Colorado where they worked at remodeling the Beulah Schoolhouse in rural Montezuma County in to their retirement home. During this time Ruby worked enthusiastically to promote the performing and visual arts in the Four Corners area. She spent several years as a member of the Pinon Arts & Humanities Alliance as well as the Cortez Cultural Center. After Glenn's death in 1995 Ruby kept busy working on her home and in her community.

In 2001 she married Richard "Pokey" Meredith. Together they enjoyed community activities, their church, and the opportunity to travel together. Pokey preceded her in death in 2007.

Ruby always said she wanted to live long enough to see all of her grandchildren graduate from college. That moment came after she turned 94 when her youngest grandchild, Samuel, graduated from college.

In later years Ruby came to the Lewis-Clark Valley to be closer to family, living the last years with her daughter and son-in-law in Lewiston, Idaho. She died September 29, 2018 leaving behind her son Russell Motta and his wife Sandy of Grinnell, Iowa and their three sons, Stewart, Lucas, and Samuel and her daughter Michelle and her husband Steve Lustig of Lewiston, Idaho and their two daughters and son-in-law, Matt & Nadia Frye and Greta Lustig.

Services for Ruby will be held Monday October 8, 2018 in Butler, Missouri where she will be laid to rest with her husband Glenn, near her parents, Romanus and Susie. Visitation will be held at 10:30 a.m. followed by services at 11 a.m. Schowengerdt Funeral Chapel (660-679-6555) of Butler is in charge of the services. Online condolences may be sent to www.schowengerdtchapel.com.

If you wish to honor Ruby please make the time to attend a local school play, visit an art show, go to a concert, or support a local artist. She enthusiastically loved the arts throughout her life and enjoyed sharing those experiences with others.