Ruby Black

May 6, 1924 — June 27, 2012

"There is nothing as important as your family." Ruby was the middle child of Rose Simonds and John Braden, born near Lewellen, Nebraska on May 6, 1924. "Pioneer families didn't have it much worse than we did," Ruby would reply when asked what it was like in those early years. Her optimism, self-reliance, work ethic, and ability to see the best even during the worst of times was no doubt born on those hard scrabble plains, amidst her extended Braden and Simonds family of 35 cousins, aunts, and uncles of her generation. She grew up in Cheyenne, Wyoming with older brother Luke and younger brother Stan, where their father found work on the Union Pacific Railroad and Rose did housework on the nearby Army Base. When their parents separated, Ruby was about eight years old. "They moved into separate houses but they were always friends. They just couldn't live together." The three siblings were inseparable, "we were like the Three Musketeers". "Money was tight" during the Great Depression, "but we had each other and I always felt loved." After graduating from high school during the onset of World War II, she and George "Blackie" Black were married. The newly commissioned Army Pilot proposed after the third date. Ruby said, "He was moving too fast for me." They waited six weeks to marry. She worked in California building parts for the B-29 bomber until George came home from China. Shortly after the war they operated a small cafe in Salem Oregon with Stan and his wife Ann. Janis Elaine was their first child in January 1947. Ronald Warren came three years later on a farm they built in Idaho. "It was nothing but sage brush when we started." The family moved to Cheyenne in 1953 where Ruby waited tables, was a department store sales clerk, and later a secretary at the Highway Department. They moved to Riverton Wyoming in 1968, where together, they built their "dream house". They were always ready to travel, driving their RV though Mexico, touring the Orient, and enjoying the Wyoming outdoor life. They moved to Scottsdale, Arizona in 1986 where she and George remodeled a home for their retirement. Preceded in death by George in 1989, Ruby lived independently in her home until the last year, passing on June 27, 2012. She will be remembered fondly by many friends, a large extended family, and her two children, three grand-children, and 9 great-grand-children. Memorial service will be held 10:00 a.m. Tuesday at Schrader Chapel followed by a reception. Interment of her urn will be in Memorial Gardens. On line condolences may be made at www.schraderfuneral.com.

Service

Tuesday, July 3, 2012 10:00am

Schrader Chapel

2323 Carey Avenue

CHEYENNE, WY 82001

Interment

Cheyenne Memorial Gardens

Highway 30

CHEYENNE, WY 82009

Reception

Schrader Reception Facility