Ruby Patrick

Ruby Nell Patrick, 79, of Bryan, TX, passed from this life on August 16, 2021 after a courageous battle with cancer. Ruby was born on April 4, 1942 to Daniel and Eva “Dutch” Patrick in Sweetwater, TX.

Ruby served in the U.S. Air Force for 22 years and was a Vietnam veteran. Rising to the rank of  Tech Sergeant, she taught technical computer skills , while based in San Antonio, TX; Anchorage, AK; Tinker AFB in Oklahoma and Sheppard AFB near Wichita Falls, TX.

Ruby earned her bachelor’s degree from Wayland Baptist  and retired from the Air Force in 1987.  After her retirement from the Air Force, she settled in the Brazos Valley, and earned her Texas Teacher’s Certification from Texas A&M University. Ruby taught for Hearne ISD for fifteen years, before retiring a second time.

Ruby had a great love of her country, family, education and of life. She enjoyed caring for birds, plants, stray cats, and helping numerous nephews and nieces. Ruby worked with the BCS Spay Neuter project where she helped trap feral cats and fund their spay/neuter treatment.  When returned to her neighborhood, she spoiled them with dishes of canned and dried cat food on both the front and back porches for their convenience.

She had nieces and nephews, great nieces and nephews and even great-great nieces and nephews and kept in touch by email and phone.  She valued every one of them like they were her own kids, whether they lived near or far.  She was known to throw handfuls of bird seed into her back yard for the birds, then call her for the kids to come pull up weeds and avoid any wild trees or flowers coming up.  With blisters on our hands from pulling up maize and other non-native plants from the yard, we informed her that she could no longer toss seed into the yard and expect us to hand weed the results!  They teasingly called her “Dill Pickle” and “You Old Burned Biscuit” which never failed to make her laugh.  Many of these “kids” drove her to appointments and stores over the years.

Ruby was preceded in death by her parents and a brother, Jerry Patrick.  She is survived by her sisters: Eyvone (Sherman, deceased) Horan and Glenda (Steven) Alexander, and brothers: Toby (Cookie, deceased) Patrick, and Charles (Lynn) Patrick.  She is also survived by three generations of nieces and nephews.