Anna Ruth Miller was born in Espyville, PA July 28, 1924, to Jerry Lee and Mary Eleanor Drake. She had four brothers and one sister. She was second to the youngest, Ruth attended church regularly with her family. Growing up on a Pennsylvania dairy farm with a variety of livestock, she learned to love animals, especially horses, which she trained and rode. She barrel raced and tried other risky activities to keep up with her brothers.

   At age 12, Ruth was written up in the local paper for mowing 200 acres of hay by herself using a Caterpillar Tractor. The farm had large gardens and crop fields where she learned about plants and became an expert gardener. The love of gardening stayed with her all her life. She helped in tapping maple trees on the farm and making maple syrup and candy was a fall activity. They sold and shipped maple syrup many places, including Nebraska.

   Ruth always preferred outside work to inside work. While milking 13 milk cows by hand, a cow stepped on her bare foot and broke it. Bur Ruth was determined to go to the fair that day. She went to the fair on crutches and afterward went to the country doctor who set her foot without x-rays.

   Ruth attended North Shenango High School in Espyville, PA. She enjoyed sports and played softball and basketball.

   After graduating from high school, she went to nursing school, but had to drop out before graduating, and subsequently got a job in Cleveland, Ohio. It was there, where she met and married Melvin Richard Miller. He was in the military and was stationed at locations all around the world, but she and the children stayed in Cleveland until 1954. When Melvin was permanently stationed in Lincoln, NE, the family followed.

   After a debilitating accident that broke her neck, she was hospitalized at Providence Hospital in Lincoln, NE. Unable to care for her four children during this time, her children were placed in Cedars Home for Children. It was at Providence Hospital, Ruth met Pastor Trago McWilliams from Christ Temple Mission Church. He had come to pray with her hospital roommate and prayed for her as well. Mother wanted to go to the revival at Christ Temple. Arrangements were made to take her there and she was laid on the front pew. It was there, Pastor Trago and others laid hands on her and prayed and she was healed. She joined the church and Christ Temple became the family’s spiritual home where she took her children whenever the doors were open. Ruth dedicated her life back to Jesus and began a life of service.

   For over 70 years Ruth served many roles in the church. From helping with services at the City Mission, picking up children and elderly for church, to choir member, Communion Steward, playing the piano or organ, to playing her harmonica for special music. She grew a church garden for all to partake.

   Ruth was very musical. She played the piano, violin, mandolin and harmonicas and of course she whistled. At home on rare occasions, they would gather around the piano to sing hymns. Ruth played the piano, daughter Patty played the clarinet, Tracy sang soprano, Flora sang alto, Kenny sang tenor and Melvin sang baritone.

   Ruth worked many jobs to help support her family. She worked for a paint company that had a whistling choir of which she was a part. She could whistle just about anything including many varieties of birds. She worked for a time as a night detective for a small firm. But her heart was in nursing. Ruth worked in many nursing homes and eventually became a geriatric nurse doing private duty nursing in homes and nursing homes.

   Ruth was involved in scouting for over 55 years and won many badges and awards for her work with cub scouts. On survival weekends the scouts lovingly called her “Mother Nature” as she taught them to forage for edible plants, roots and berries to survive the outdoors.

   Ruth understood Jesus command to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, visit the prisoners, and the sick.

   It was not unusual for Ruth to take in whole families in need who had been burned out or down on their luck. It was not unusual for her to feed a homeless person on her back porch. Not only would feed them physical bread but introduce them to the Bread of Life by reading from the Bible while they ate.

   She helped countless people by sharing whatever she had. When her teenage children asked her why she helped people who would never help her in return, she always said, “What would Jesus do?” This was long before the WWJD slogan became popular.

   She was involved in Prison Ministry at the State Penitentiary for over 60 years, attending services with Pastor Trago, Bro. Kendal McWilliams and the people of Christ Temple. She later taught Bible Study there with Velma Jones a missionary to the Indians in Arizona. The inmates lovingly called her Grandma. On Ruth’s 95^th birthday 4 young men from the prison Bible Studies, who were then pastors, attended that party. Mother had the time of her life when she was able to ride a horse again for her 95^th birthday, thanks to daughter Tracey.

   Ruth was involved in Legal Aid Society where she eventually became president. Ruth and Velma started a ministry called Food Net. They gathered good day-old food from bakeries, restaurants and grocery stores and piled them into her old red station wagon to take to poor neighborhoods where people could take what they wanted.

   This old station wagon called the “Red Bomb” was also used to load her rototiller.  She would take it to the homes of elderly or church folk and till their gardens for them. When she was forced to quit driving at age 90 she lamented, “How will I be able to go visit the old people now?”

   Ruth grew up playing board games with her family, She never outgrew that love and played many games with her grandchildren. She invited anyone who came to her house to play dominoes or challenged them in Crokinole.

   After Velma died, Ruth moved from the home she and Velma had shared for over thirty years, to Tabitha Village, where she lived for nine years until moving to Missouri with her daughter Patty. Ruth’s ability to be a people collector, continued and she won the hearts of the people at the churches her daughter Patty and her husband Pastor Jim pastored. With so much change she never lost her love of gardening, dogs, cats and horses. There is so much more that could be said about this wonderful woman. She had her flaws, sorrows and disappointments like everyone else. But when it is all said and done, we can say without a doubt, she lived for Jesus. It is enough to know that she is I heaven with the Lord Jesus she loved so dearly. It is encouraging to know we will see her again someday if we put our trust in Jesus too.  

   Ruth was preceded in death by her parents, Jerry Lee and Mary Eleanor (West) Drake, her siblings; Gerald, Frank, Albert, Alvin and Dorothy. Her daughter; Flora Lynn(Miller) Heine, husband Melvin Richard Miller, great granddaughter Taylor LeeAnn Miller, grandson Corey Lee Miller. Surviving are her children: Tracey Lee Hillman (Roger), Kenny Richard Miller (Eileen), Patricia Ann Smith (James), Grandchildren: Christopher Hillman (Rachel), Julie Michels (Travis), Kelly Miller, Melissa Womack (David), Rod Miller (Kati), 13 Great Grandchildren and 6 Great Great Grandchildren.