Ruth (Brown) Spatz

Ruth Brown Spatz, 82, passed away peacefully during the early morning hours of Tuesday, December 5, 2023. After fighting for years and winning battle after battle, she finally lost the war with cancer at the house of her devoted friend and sister-in-law, Linda Brown-Wheeler.
Ruth is survived by her, two sons, Ken (Meg) and Allen (Kristi), three grandchildren, Dallas Spatz (Amelia), Dawn Roe (James) and Kenady Spatz, three great grandchildren, Lincoln, Rozalind and Maxwell. Also survived by her sisters, Golda, Jerry, and Kathy and brother Mike, along with many cousins, nieces and nephews.
Preceded in death by her husband of 61 years, Glen, parents, Ephraim Lynn Brown and Jeanette Inez Brown, daughter Stephanie Lynn, brothers, Harry, Jim, David, and Darrell Joe.
Ruth was born in Bigelow, Arkansas on December 20, 1940 and during her childhood the family headed west and settled in Trinity County California where her dad, Ephraim, found work at "Covington Sawmill." While there Ruth drew the attention of more than a few sawyers, but one named Glen caught her eye. Ruth and Glen began a fairy tale romance that lasted nearly seven decades. Glen joined the army in 1957 and returned to California in 1958 on Ruth's 18th birthday and boldly told Ephraim and Jeanette that he had come to take Ruth to which Ephraim replied "You do know you can't bring her back, don't you?"
Undeterred, Glen whisked Ruth away, they were married and off to build their life together. The army took them to Germany, several bases around the United States and finally to Fort Bragg, North Carolina.
After leaving the army and a quick tour of the country, Ruth and Glen settled in Houston Texas in the early 1960s and began raising their family. In 1975 they took the boys and moved to Harleton. Soon after, they joined Harleton Baptist Church where Ruth enjoyed being part of the church choir. An outstanding soloist, she relished each opportunity to praise God in song and, according to her two sons, rehearsed at home way more than necessary.
In 1981 Ruth went to work in the bakery at Brookshire's Grocery Store. Unknown to most people she was challenged with dyslexia, but Ruth would not be discouraged. With unparalleled tenacity, loyalty to her employer and dedication to hard work, Ruth was promoted to Bakery and Deli Manager. She consistently amazed upper management by surpassing all expectations. After receiving numerous awards for everything from leadership to sales, Ruth retired after 20 years. A year later, at the request of Brookshire's management (and possibly Glen), Ruth returned to work and again set high standards and exceeded expectations. She later retired for good after 30 years of dedicated service.
Ruth loved any excuse to gather with family including her children, grandchildren, great grandchildren, brothers, cousins, etc. But, she had an especially close relationship with her sisters whom she cherished. When together they laughed at anything, laughed at everything, knew each other's thoughts, and even completed each other's sentences (unless they weren't speaking at the time). Ruth treasured all of her relationships. She was an adoring and faithful wife, an incredible mom, a doting, grandmother and great grandmother, a wonderful sister, and a dedicated friend.
Friends and family are invited to a visitation and memorial service to be held at the Cammack Family Welch Funeral Home in Longview on Friday, December 8, 2023. Visitation will begin at 10:00am with a service following at 11:00am.