Ruby Jackson

Ruby Jackson Ruby Hawkins was born to Aubrey and Ebby Hawkins September 9, 1927 in Everett, WV. She was welcomed by her siblings Drucilla, Alphonzia (AL), Sarah, Mary, and Alice. Aubrey Jr. and Evelyn followed a few years later. Their father was a coal miner at Coal Mine Number Nine in Monongah, WV. After a disastrous mine cave-in, Ebby convinced her husband to find another line of work, and the family moved to Wilmerding, PA in 1936. Her father worked for Westinghouse Airbrake, but was pushed out for being a union activist. He started his own successful business as a hauler and recycler. Ruby spent most of her school years in Wilmerding, with occasional visits to family in Sylvester County, Georgia where she learned of her family history. One of her favorite stories was about how her father fooled the landowner and escaped the bonds of being a sharecropper. Ruby made life-long friends growing up in Wilmerding. She attended Westinghouse Memorial High School where she played trombone in the band, was active in sports (softball and basketball), and graduated in June 1946. She was very proud of being a leader in “Tri-Hi Wy”. She also excelled in the classroom. Ruby was the top student of her class but was denied the opportunity to give the valedictory address because the administration felt it was “unfair to recognize only one high achieving student” (if that student was not white). Ruby also had friends that insisted Ruby be included on the majorette squad despite her color. She learned to cook spaghetti sauce from her Italian friends. Ruby did not talk much about WWII. However, she was very impressed with a handsome twenty-three year old, returning staff sergeant, William Jackson. William and Ruby were married August 3, 1946, not long after her high school graduation. Their three sons followed during the subsequent years. Meanwhile William, with help from his brothers, built the house on Crestas Avenue where the family lived for the next fifty years. Ruby was a dedicated wife and mother. She helped with the business side of Jackson Brothers Construction (later William A. Jackson Construction) while raising the three boys. She was PTA president, a den mother for the Cub Scouts, a Girl Scout leader for her niece’s troop and a long-term election judge. When her sons were in Junior high school, Ruby decided to continue her education at the Irwin School of Nursing in Pittsburgh. Her sons remember ‘helping” her with her homework in classes such as Anatomy. She was proud of earning one of the top scores on the state Licensed Practical Nurse exam. Her first job after nursing school was at Magee Women’s Hospital in the nursery. She was often entrusted with the babies born before the mothers could get to the hospital. She formed a strong bond with these babies kept in isolation, but eventually decided she’d rather work with a less high-risk population. So, she began working in the private practice of Dr. Primas, and as a visiting nurse, until she retired. After retiring from nursing, she worked (for the fun of it) at Gimbels Department Store. She would joke that her savings from her employee discount exceeded her wages. About this time, Ruby became involved in helping her son Larry parent his son Larry Jr. In their free time, William and Ruby traveled around the country for his Water Authority conferences, visiting family and following the Steelers. Ruby became a caregiver after William’s stoke and decline. Fortunately, she had the support of family and friends during that difficult time. Family and friends continued to support her after she moved into her Rosedale apartment. Sisters Evelyn and Sarah helped Ruby through the transition. Her goddaughter Diane Banks provided much needed care for several years. In recent years, Larry Jr and his fiancée Angel Harris, became the primary caregivers. As Grandma’s health continued to decline, Larry Jr and Angel took her into their own home, where they lovingly took care of her, during her last year. Ruby was preceded in death by her parents, siblings Drucilla, Mary, Sarah, Al, and Aubrey, son Larry Sr. and grandchild Joanne. She is survived by her sons William (Corrie) Jackson Jr., and Ronald (Susan) Jackson; her sisters Alice and Evelyn; her grandchildren Larry (Angel) Jackson Jr., Anna (Caelyn) Nagle, Benjamin Jackson (Sarah McNeill), William “Tony” (Chris) Jackson III, Scott (Rebecca) Council Jackson, Loretta Jackson, David Jones, Jason Metcalf, Russel and Michael Tyler, Bernard Furby Jr., and Denita Furby Hawkins, and many great-grand-children and great-great-grand-children. “Aunt Ruby” leaves behind others she considered her children: Jim Tunie Jr., Steve Hardin, Carl Jackson, and her niece Pam Jackson Smyth. She also leaves behind many other nieces and nephews, and her long-time siblings-in-law Charles and Marjorie Jackson, Irma Jackson, Grace English, Vernice Jackson and Loretta Hawkins.

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Ruby Jackson

September 9, 1927 - August 30, 2020