Frank & Bright Funeral Home

Ruth Ann Meyer

Jun 17th, 1924 - Dec 9th, 2014

 

     Ruth Ann "Ruthie" (Schwager) Meyer, 90, of Flora, Illinois, took her final step “onward and upward” on December 9, 2014.  Her life was the depiction of this phrase as she daily encouraged people to “forget unpleasant experiences and failures and think about the future instead.”  Ruthie always was concerned about others’ feelings and needs and found ways to build them up with love and kind words.  Even during her frequent hospital stays in her later years, she offered hospitality to her visitors and the hospital staffs.

   She taught her children to consider other peoples’ feelings and give them, like she did, the benefit of the doubt.  She nursed five family members through their final days.  She gave sacrificially without complaint, always being sensitive to those who others might not notice were hurting.  She didn’t acquire any initials after her name other than possibly, ELW & M, “Ever Loving Wife and Mother.”  She suffered much in her final years but now she is free from all of her pain, enjoying fellowship with God.

   The third daughter of Harry and Violet Schwager, Ruth Ann was born in Chenoa, Illinois, on June 17, 1924.  As a child she enjoyed riding horses and tagging along with her father as he worked his cattle stockyard.  She and her husband Jack Meyer met in 1944 and would have celebrated 70 years of marriage on December 23, 2014.  They have been lifelong residents of Flora except for a few years during and after World War ll.

   She is survived by her husband Jack, their children Carol (Mark) Cabaj, Normal, Illinois,  Paul (Julie) Meyer, Kansas City, Missouri,  and Janet (Gregg) Dixon, Fairhope, Alabama; grandchildren Luke (Caryn) Dixon, Murfreesboro, Tennessee, Daniel Dixon, Austin, Texas, Elizabeth Dixon, Oxford, Mississippi,  Kerry Meyer, (Tom Mullins) Denver, Colorado,  Zachary Meyer, Tempe, Arizona,  and Whitney (John) Cox, Louisville, Kentucky; and great-grandchildren, Jameson Cox and Hayley Dixon.

   Ruth Ann graduated from the University of Illinois with a degree in journalism in 1943.  While there she was one of the first women editors of the Daily Illini Newspaper.  She also was one of the first women cheerleaders at the University during World War II and was a member of the Gamma Phi Beta sorority.  While Jack went to law school at Washington University in St. Louis after the War, Ruthie worked as an editor for the Christian Board of Publication.

   Ruthie had a heart for service to God and it was evidenced by her loving devotion as a helpmate to her husband, as a mother and grandmother, and as a member of her church.  She was most happy when she was giving of herself to help others.  She was an excellent cook and baker and fixed delicious meals for guests and missionaries in her home as well as for those who were suffering.  She was an expert seamstress and tailor, making clothes for her family as well as manger scene costumes and the drapes for the baptistery of the First Christian Church.  Ruth Ann taught seventh grade girls Sunday school class for 21 years.  She was an elder’s wife, member of the Win-A Couple Sunday School class, Women’s Missionary Circle, the Garden Club, and the Women’s Republican Club.

   The funeral service for Ruth Ann is scheduled for Saturday, December 20, 2014, at Frank & Bright Funeral Home, 500 North Main Street, Flora, Illinois, at 3 p.m. in the afternoon.  Visitation will precede the service at 2 p.m.  Interment will follow at Elmwood Cemetery.

   In lieu of flowers, memorials can be made to the Arthritis Foundation, P. O. Box 96280, Washington, D.C. 20077-7491, www.arthritis.org, or to the Ruth Ann Meyer Memorial Scholarship Fund at Oil Belt Christian Service Camp, 555 Park Road, Flora, IL 62839, [email protected].

   The family would like to express their greatest appreciation to the caregivers that so tenderly cared for Ruthie in her last days.  She was truly loved by her family and friends and memories of her will be cherished forever.