Ruth Irene Myers Smee Himebaugh, 93, passed from this life on Sunday, Aug. 23, 2015, in Wichita Falls, Texas. A memorial service will be held at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 19, at the Waurika Church of Christ in Waurika, Okla., with Roy Himebaugh, Bob Smee and Tom Barton officiating. In the spring, her cremains will be buried with her mother in Willow Grove Cemetery in Buffalo, Wyo., at the foot of the mountains she loved so much.
She was born Jan. 29, 1922, in Guernsey, Wyo., to Jacob D. and Nettie May Lucinda Carbah Myers.
When she was a preschooler, Ruth’s family moved by covered wagon from Guernsey, in the southeast corner of Wyoming, to Buffalo, in the northeast part of the state, nestled by the Big Horn Mountains. The trip took two weeks. On the way her younger sister Inez rode with their dad in the front wagon. When anyone passed them, Inez would wave. If they didn’t wave back, her dad taught her to yell, “Go to grass” at them.
The family sharecropped in the Red Hills east of Buffalo. They rode horses and scared off rustlers (yes, even the girls did this). The children attended a one-room schoolhouse that initially had only six students, including Ruth, who was only 5 at the time.
Ruth had a lifelong friend, Alvina Curuchet. They attended grades one through 12 together and had been friends ever since. The Curuchets were sheepherders and still are.
Ruth’s first husband was a lumberjack named Robert W. Smee. They lived in the mountains until he was killed in World War II. They had one son, Wilson. Because of Robert’s wartime death, Ruth was designated a Gold Star Wife. She was also a longtime member of the Ladies Auxiliary of VFW Post No. 2469.
Her second husband was Coin F. Himebaugh. They lived in Michigan and had three children, Susan, Linda and Roy. He died at age 41. After his death the family moved back to Wyoming, where Ruth often had to kill deer to feed them.
Ruth worked as a retail clerk for a time and was a nurse’s aide in several nursing homes over the years. She retired from the hospital in Yuma, having worked in central supply for 10 years.
She was a member of the American Association of Medical Assistants, as well as the Arizona and Yuma chapters.
She loved the Lord Jesus Christ and had been a devoted Christian since her teenage years. She taught Sunday School at the First Baptist Church in Buffalo, was a member of Valley Baptist Church in Yuma for many years and had been worshipping God at Calvary Chapel since moving to Snowflake. She made many quilts for missionaries and family members in the past 30 years.
Her children, grandchildren, and great-grands were her pride and joy.
She was a “mountain girl” at heart, and spoke often of her beloved Bighorn Mountains and Buffalo.
She was preceded in death by her parents, Jacob and Nettie Myers; her husband, Robert W. Smee; her husband, Coin F. Himebaugh; her brother, Art Myers; her sisters, Amy Smee and Inez James; and her son-in-law, Fred L. Jones.
Survivors include her sons, W. Robert “Bob” Smee and his wife Sharon of Marietta, Okla., and Roy F. Himebaugh and his wife DeeAnn of Waurika, Okla.; her daughters, Susan K. Jones of Snowflake, and Linda M. and her husband Tom Barton of Independence, Kan.; her sister-in-law, Betty Himebaugh Blocksom of Fischers, Ind.; 19 grandchildren; and 29 great-grandchildren.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Alzheimer’s Association, 901 Indiana, Suite 350, Wichita Falls, Texas 76301.
Dudley Funeral Homes of Waurika was in charge of the arrangements.
