Orpha “Ruth” Gaines, daughter of the late Rev. Everett Earnest and Effie Caroline Mason, was born on July 28, 1944 in Carroll County, Tennessee and departed this life, unexpectedly, on December 7, 2019, while on vacation in Cozumel, Mexico at the age of 75 years.
Ruth graduated with honors from Bismarck High School, in Bismarck, Missouri in 1962. She then moved to Dexter, Missouri, the place she would eventually call home and raise her family. She attended Three Rivers Community College in Poplar Bluff, Missouri. She worked at Elder’s Manufacturing, where she met her late husband Jim Alvis Gaines. The two were united in marriage on January 31, 1964, in Dexter, Missouri and went on to have two sons, James Kevin Gaines and Kenneth Wayne Gaines.
She then started what would be a successful 30+ year career in the banking industry, when she accepted a job at Southern Bank in 1977. She had a way with numbers and often prepared taxes during the season for those who needed help. She eventually retired in 2010. After her retirement, Ruth enjoyed spending time with family and friends, working in her garden, cooking and baking delicious treats from scratch, sewing and crafting, serving her church, traveling and especially spending time with her grandchildren every chance she could get.
In addition to being a dedicated and loving mother, grandmother, sister and friend, she had so much love for her church family. Ruth was a faithful member of the Southwest Church of the Nazarene since the 1960’s. She loved her church, and the relationships in Christ she formed there. She held many volunteer roles, including Treasurer and serving on the church board. Throughout her entire life, she had an unwavering faith in God, which she shared with all those who surrounded her.
Ruth is survived by two sons, James Kevin Gaines of Dexter, Missouri and Kenneth Wayne Gaines (Brenda) of Grand Island, Nebraska; by her step-daughter, Debbie Speer (Norm) of St. Louis, Missouri; by three sisters, Doris Hubbell of Jonesboro, Arkansas, Joy Tilmon (Henry) of Bernie, Missouri, and Charlotte “Jane” Mason (Linda) of St. Louis, Missouri; by four grandchildren, Jada Rose Gaines, Lily Grace Gaines, Shane Speer and Amanda Speer; by one great-grandson, Landen Speer; by three cousins; and by twenty-four nieces and nephews, nine great nieces and nephews, and thirteen great-great nieces and nephews.
Ruth was preceded in death by her husband, Jim Alvis Gaines; by her parents, Rev. Everett and Effie Mason; by four sisters, Ruby Lee Hodges, Mary Helen Mason, Geraldine Bell Rowland, and Violet Fay Raines; by two brothers, Winfred Adell Mason and Earnest Frank Mason; by two half-brothers, Donald Ray and Wendell Everett; and by her granddaughter, Olivia Jane Gaines.
To know her, was to love her. Family, friend, or stranger, she showed the same love and kindness of Jesus Christ to everyone who crossed her path. Mrs. Gaines lived her life by the Golden Rule: Treat others the way you would like to be treated. She had a tender, compassionate and giving spirit, a woman of faith and was the heart and backbone of the Gaines family. She was dearly loved by so many and her legacy lives on through the lives she touched by her love and kindness.
Friends may call at Rainey-Mathis Funeral Home in Dexter on Thursday, December 19, 2019 from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Funeral services will then be conducted in the Rainey-Mathis Funeral Chapel in Dexter on Friday, December 20, 2019 at 2:00 p.m. with Rev. Ron King and Rev. Bill Burke officiating.
Interment will follow in the Dexter Cemetery.
Rainey-Mathis Funeral Home in Dexter is in charge of all arrangements.
