Darlene Ruby 1927 - 2020

RUBY, KING, EACKER

Posted By: Connie Swearingen- Volunteer (email)
Date: 5/20/2021 at 00:28:50

Sioux City Journal
10 December 2020

Darlene Ruby

Sioux City -- Darlene Ruby, 93, of Sioux City passed away on Monday, Dec. 7, 2020 in Sioux City.

Services will be held at Wesley United Methodist Church, 3700 Indian Hills Drive, Sioux City on at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday. Graveside service and burial will be held later that day in Ewing, Neb., with family attending.

Darlene was born in Bartlett, Neb. on March 29, 1927, daughter of Ralph Eacker and Stella Odessa (King) Eacker; one of five children. The family eventually moved to Ewing which is where she lived for most of her growing-up years. She loved her memories of Ewing and told many stories of her life and times spent in her beloved hometown.

Ewing is where she met and married Eugene Ruby. They were married on Dec. 31, 1946, in the church basement, as the church had been demolished by a tornado earlier that year. They had six children, thirteen grandchildren, and fifteen great-grandchildren. Gene died on May 11, 2005.

During World war II, Darlene moved to New York City and worked at Radio Corp of America. When Gene returned from the service, they lived in Ewing, started a family, and eventually moved to Sioux City where they lived from 1958 to 1976. She ran a chaotic household of six kids with a lot of cooking, laundry, gardening, and hosting holidays for numerous relatives and friends.

She was a member of the PTA in Leeds and a “room mother” during her kids’ school years. When a hailstorm woke the family in the middle of the night, our mom made the best of things by having a spontaneous homemade ice cream party with the hailstones we collected from the yard.

While living in Colorado, she was a realtor and enjoyed her career and clients. She loved Colorado: the mountains, picnics with the family, and especially her two little Yorkies; Beau and Gus. In her later years, she returned to live in Sioux City to be closer to her children and family. She was the foundation of our family, and she will be greatly missed for her stories and love of conversation.

She is survived by her son Jan (Colleen) Ruby of Spicer, Minn.; son Todd Ruby of Sioux City; daughter Carmen (Mike) Mitchell of Loveland, Colo.; daughter Shawna (John) Wilsbacher of Sioux City; her grandchildren; and great-grandchildren.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Gene; her son, Kim Ruby; her daughter, Roxanne Remington; and her grandson, Tyler Remington.