Ruth F. Brown

A funeral ceremony honoring the life of Ruth Fern Brown will be held at 10 AM Wednesday, June 16 at the Rivercrest Chapel in Bixby. The service will be live streamed and can be viewed by following this link https://webcast.funeralvue.com/events/viewer/55730

The family will receive visitors from 6 to 8 PM Tuesday evening at Bixby-South Tulsa Funeral Service.  Ruth passed away Friday evening, June 11, 2021 in Tahlequah.  She was 96 years old.

Born February 7, 1925 in Cherryvale, Kansas, Ruth was the second child born to Ira Scott and Leota (Clay) Knight.  Her parents were Holiness ministers, and they struggled to raise their 10 children under the difficult economic conditions of the Great Depression.  Ruth preferred the outdoors and enjoyed basketball and softball as she grew up in southern Kansas.  She graduated with the Cherryvale High School Class of 1943 and kept in touch with several of her classmates throughout the years. 

Soon after graduation she and her older sister, Toots, boarded a train and moved to California, living temporarily with their grandparents before finding a small apartment.  Working at the Mira Loma Quartermaster Depot, they regularly sent their earnings back home to help support the family. 

During a holiday in Oklahoma, Ruth was introduced to Daniel Brown who had recently returned from his service with the US Army Air Forces in England.  He subsequently joined her in California, and they were married in a small private ceremony at Lake Tahoe on November 3, 1946.  Choosing to return home, they stuffed all their possessions into their old car and made their way east at the fastest rate the car would allow – 35 mph. 

Ruth and Dan made their new home in Tulsa, often opening it to brothers who were transitioning into Tulsa employment.  She briefly returned to the workforce, but after the birth of their first child the decision was made that Ruth would become a full-time homemaker.  However, drawing on her many strengths, she would eventually manage the finances of her husband’s construction business, and successfully establish and operate a Christian bookstore.  

As a young woman, Ruth had a talent for painting and in the 1970s enrolled in art classes where she further developed her skill.  She had a life-long love for gardening and even at 96 was designing new rock gardens and operating her riding lawn mower.  Embracing life, she participated in backyard sports, was always eager to organize a lake side picnic, and seldom turned down a road trip, boat ride, or chance to eat out.

Ruth faithfully served her church as pianist and taught Sunday School or Bible Study for over 70 years, often studying throughout the night.  She was also keenly interested in helping teenagers, especially those with poor reading skills.  Many lives were changed by her compassion and concern for young men and women.  She is also remembered for having a natural ability to make people feel comfortable, even in uncomfortable situations.  A truly remarkable, determined and revered woman, her memory will be cherished by the many people she touched.  

Surviving family members include her children, Duane Brown and wife, Sandy of Park Hill, Dan Brown and wife, Jana of Mounds, and Deanna Patterson of Park Hill; her grandchildren, Traci Morris, Christopher Brown, Sarah McLaughlin and husband, Chris, Monty Brown, Tanner Brown, Austen Patterson, Kyla Patterson and Lynsy Patterson; 6 great grandchildren, her siblings, Rena (Toots) Knight, Wilma (Sis) Miller, LaVon (Bonnie) Cox, Keith Knight and wife, Charla, and Harold Knight and wife, Berniece. She was preceded in death by her parents; her husband, Dan, sister, Vera, and brothers, Carl, Gene, and Bill. 

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