Ruth Ann Oyer's Obituary
Ruth Ann (Jordan) Walker Oyer was born in Charleston, W.Va. on September 29, 1910. Being the third child and first daughter for 10 years among six brothers, she literally became her mother, Ethel Polly Jordon's, major helper ' baking biscuits before going to school and ironing for the family after school. Still, she was a very good student. When she was twelve she trusted Christ as her personal Savior and lived faithfully for Him all her life. Her family moved from Charleston to Akron, Ohio ' at that time the rubber capital of the world - where her father worked as a painter for one of the rubber plants. He also did extra commercial painting, working hard to care for his then family of nine children, for another daughter, Mary Nell, had arrived when Ruth was ten. Mary became the pride and joy of Ruth and she literally 'mothered' her until Mary was a teen. Mary pre-deceased Ruth by nine years. Ruth married Elorace Paul Walker, a friend of one of her brothers, when she was twenty-one and they had four children: Robert Lee Walker, Geraldine Ruth De Genaro, Doris Ann Riley and Nancy Jean Chandler. All throughout her young married life, Ruth was both creative and industrious. She constantly sewed for the family, canned hundreds of quarts of vegetables and fruits each summer and became a saleslady par excellence for several different home -marketing companies (Peggy Newton Cosmetics, Stanley Home Products and a 'plastics' firm, when plastics first hit the US market) as she acquired income to help care for her children. When it became apparent that her 26 year marriage to Paul was ending, Ruth put herself through night school, learning typing and shorthand and became a secretary in the International Department of the B.F. Goodrich Co. in Akron, Ohio from where she retired at the age of 65. During those more than 20 Goodrich years, Ruth and a co-worker friend, regularly walked two miles daily during their lunch hour'a mile walk downtown while eating their lunch 'on the hoof', 15 minutes of shopping in Akron's two main department stores, and then the one-mile hike back to work. No wonder she was always a fast 'walker' and physically fit. After retirement she began to travel ' spending six weeks in Senegal, West Africa with her missionary daughter, Nancy, and Will and family and often spending Christmases in California with her son, Lee, and family. Ruth faithfully served her Lord all her life, training her children to love and serve Jesus. When she was sixty-nine, God brought the retired and widowed minister, Rev. Albert J. Oyer (then 81) into her life and they married, spending the winters in St. Petersburg, Florida and the summers in Ohio. After Albert's death (they had 11 special years together), she lived exclusively in St. Petersburg where she successively was an active member in two area congregations - Community Covenant Church and Northside Baptist Church. During her Florida years she and six other pastor's wives formed a unique luncheon fellowship group known as the WORMS ' Wives Of Retired MinisterS. These ladies were dear friends to Ruth and they had many laughs together as they also held each other and their families before the Lord in prayer. For years Ruth was a letter writer of encouragements. Each of her children and all of her thirteen grandchildren will always cherish the notes and cards that she typed to them telling of her interest, support and love. Each grandchild also has a beautifully crocheted afghan (in their choice of colors) and a baby layette blanket especially made for them by their Grandmother Ruth. She has 31 great-grandchildren. All her siblings (Nathaniel, Earl, Paul, Carl, John, William, Mary, Jackie) predeceased her. Ruth was an ardent supporter of God's work ' both of the local church and of missions, having sponsored four missionary families for years, as well as a national in India. Ruth was indeed a wonderful wife, mother, grandmother and great-grandmother of faith and prayer. She was a lady of style and a woman of action. 'Her children arise and call her blessed;' 'many women do noble things, but you surpass them all.''a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.' Proverbs 31:28'30.
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