CELINDA BROWN

The Angelic Hosts came for Mrs. Ruby Burnim Sunday, Nov. 1, 2020 at her Grand Prairie residence among loving family and devoted friends. Viewing will take place Thursday, Nov. 12 from 1 p.m.-6 p.m. in the Funeral Home Chapel.

Grave Services will take place Friday, Nov. 13 at 2 p.m. in the Pine Grove Cemetery, 6005 Texas Hwy 7, Nacogdoches under the direction of Moore’s Angelic Funeral Home.

A virtual memorial service has been planned for Mrs. Burnim for Saturday, Nov. 25.

Ruby Dell Geraldine Brigham was born to Jodie Lincoln Brigham and Leola Elizabeth Fowler Brigham in the all-Black community of Neylandville July 7, 1926.

She graduated from St. Paul High School and entered Prairie View A&M College, where she earned a B.S. in Home Economics, and met her life mate, Arzo Burnim.

After graduating from Prairie View, Ruby returned to Neylandville to teach in the public schools.

She married Arzo Dec. 21, 1947 and they moved to Furney Richardson, where Arzo began his teaching career.

Four children were born to this union—Mickey, Mellonee, Avis (who passed away shortly after birth), and Wonda.

Initially choosing to be a full-time mother after marrying Arzo, Ruby later resumed her teaching career at G. B. Bennett Elementary School in Buffalo.

After a short tenure there, she secured an appointment at J. A. Brooks Elementary, and later, Sallie Mounger Elementary, where she was one of the first African American teachers to serve in the newly-integrated Teague Independent School District during the late 1960s.

In 1990, after a thirty-year career, Ruby chose to retire, in order to provide full-time care for her husband, who was facing serious health challenges.