Ruth Ann Byers

Ruth was born to Allene Tussy Wiyninger and Jacob Wiyninger in County Line, Oklahoma on November 23, 1930 and died on November 9, 2018 in Oklahoma City. She was preceded in death by her parents, sister Mary Von and husband Jack Byers. Ruth grew up on a farm between Stephens and Carter Counties. Ruth graduated at age sixteen from Marlow High School in 1947 and was the valedictorian of her class. After graduation she married Jack Byers and was a homemaker until she began her banking career in the early 1960s. Ruth became one of the first female bank officers in Oklahoma. She retired from Metro Bank after almost twenty years in the field. Ruth enjoyed being a wife and mother, however she was truly called to be a grandmother. She often told her three granddaughters that she had waited all her life to be called "Grandma". Her life's true work was in her service to her family as a wonderful cook, avid gardener and exceptional artist. Ruth and Jack joined Waterloo Road Baptist Church where she taught Sunday School, worked in the nursery and headed many committees. Her hands were never idle. Her apple pies were the source of many family debates and her potato soup could make anyone feel better. Ruth loved fiercely. She decorated for all of the holidays and the Easter Egg hunts on Sorghum Mill Road are the source of this family's many tall tales. She was a bird watcher and she knew them by their feathers and their calls. Ruth is survived by her brother, Dudley Wiyninger, her sister, Jean Gilbert, by her beloved children, daughter Jackie Ann Winters, and her son, Ben R. Byers and wife Terry. She adored her three granddaughters, Dee Anne Imel (Jeff), Brooke Byers Holman (Travis) and Meredith Byers Roan (Jason) and her seven great grandchildren. The family wishes to thank many members of staff at the Fountains at Canterbury and Centennial Hospice for the wonderful, loving care that they provided to Ruth over these past difficult years. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the Alzheimers Association. The funeral service will be held Friday, November 16, 2018 at 10 am at Smith & Kernke N. May Chapel.