Ruby Dee (Crow) Donaldson was born on October 8, 1926, in Swink, Oklahoma.  She went home to be with Jesus on August 11, 2022, at her daughter's home in Marietta, Oklahoma at the age of 95.

Ruby is preceded in death by her husband, James Floyd Donaldson; a grandson, Forrest Jones; a great granddaughter, Avery Ann Jones; her sister, Bennie Thornburgh and husband John, her brother, William Crow and wife Verna, and her parents, Ben and Frankie Crow.

Ruby married her husband, Floyd Donaldson, in Wichita Falls, TX on January 10, 1953, and they shared 59 years together.  In the early years of their marriage, they lived in Wichita Falls, but they moved back to Swink in 1961 and made that community their home for the rest of their lives.  In 1963, Floyd and Ruby opened their own business together in Ft. Towson, OK and operated Donaldson Electric for over 30 years.  In 1970, they also started a water supply business in Swink and provided water to many residents for almost 50 years.

During this time, Ruby worked hard, long hours to help manage the family business, but she also worked tirelessly to make sure her family was taken care of and well provided for.  Ruby always loved and placed her family and friends above her own needs and was always willing to help those around her.  Ruby loved to cook, and she enjoyed providing delicious meals for her family and for all those she welcomed into her home.  It was a familiar sight to see other family members and friends joining them at the supper table.  Almost every Sunday, Ruby and Floyd would invite their preacher to join them for Sunday lunch where they might find a good old-fashioned pot roast along with numerous vegetables, hot rolls, and always a freshly cooked dessert.  To Ruby, cooking was a way of serving others, a way of following Jesus' command to "love one another."  Ruby had a servant's heart, and she willingly served and loved those around her, but above all, Ruby was a Christian, a follower of Jesus Christ, and she loved serving her Lord.

From the time Ruby was saved as a teenager, church was an important part of her life.  She was always very active in her church where she served in many roles, including serving as the pianist at Pilgrim Rest Baptist Church where she and Floyd were members for over 30 years.

She also enjoyed reading and studying her Bible, and numerous times she read through the entire Bible.  Even in her 90s, as her eyes were failing, she was determined to read it through one more time, while taking notes and summarizing each book.

Ruby worked hard; she faced problems and hard times, but she found her strength in Jesus and in prayer.  It was common at mealtime and bedtime to find her praying.  She never stopped praying for her children, grandchildren, and other family members and friends. In the last years of her life, you would many times see her with her arm raised to heaven as she prayed and trusted Jesus to carry her through this life and into the eternal life to come.

There are many things to be said about Ruby, but her children believe you can turn to Proverbs 31 and find a description to fit her well—she never travelled far from home; she never had the riches of this world, but she truly was a virtuous woman whose price was far above rubies.  She did her family good and not evil, all the days of her life.  Today, her children and grandchildren rise up and call her blessed.  She was a woman who feared and loved the Lord, and as she entered into the presence of Jesus, she surely heard the words, "Well done, good and faithful servant."

She is survived by one son, Ronnie Donaldson and his wife Paula of Swink, OK; one daughter, Carolyn Lancaster and her husband Charles of Marietta, OK; a grandson, Kyle Donaldson and his wife Dawn of Hugo, OK; a granddaughter, Autumn Bevills and her husband Doug of Wright City, OK; great grandchildren, Selah Moore and her husband Noah, Bethany Ortiz and her husband A.J., Trevor, Kinsley, and River Bevills, and Addison Jones.

She is also survived by several nieces, nephews, cousins, brothers and sisters-in-law, and many other friends and family members, including a special niece, Ruth Baskin, who for many years called her every single day.

Services for Ruby will be held Wednesday, August 17 ^th at 2 pm at Pilgrim Rest Baptist Church in Valliant, OK; interment will be at Ft. Towson Cemetery.