Aunt Ruby

Life Reflections

Ruby Mae Mosley Mathews , affectionately known as "Auntie Ruby", was born June 2, 1919, in Kemper County, Mississippi, to the late Ellis and Fannie Mosley. Her parents moved their family to the St. Louis area in 1922 and soon lived in the Meacham Park neighborhood where they built a home at 341 Saratoga.

Ruby attended J. Milton Turner School and graduated Valedictorian of her class at Douglass High School in Webster Groves. Upon graduating, she attended Tucker Business College and worked various jobs as a secretary, including for the principal of Douglass School and prominent attorneys.

In 1957, at the age of 38, Ruby received her Bachelor of Science degree from St. Louis University. One of her many vocations was a special education teacher with the Kinloch School District.

Ruby married the late John C. Cotter, who was a local musician and pianist for Della Reese. Years later, after moving to California, Ruby married Lorimer Mathews. "Mattie", as she called him was an avid golfer, which allowed them to travel throughout the United States and to over twenty-five countries.

When Ruby retired as a Deputy Juvenile Office for the State of California, she and Lorimer moved back to Saint Louis where she founded the Fannie Clayton Cultural Center for children in her neighborhood. When "Mattie" passed away in 1987, they had been married 22 years.

From the time she was a child growing up in the Kirkwood Church of God, Ruby loved the Lord. Throughout her life, she worshipped with different churches and found her final church home with Agape Seventh-Day Adventist Church. She would often pray and have "Morning Glory" with her caregiver, Sandra Collins.

Ruby loved to have fun and enjoyed music either dancing to it or playing the piano. in July, she played Silent Night on the keyboard. Ruby was an avid historian. She created the first chronology of the Clayton Family and loved collecting Black History from many sources. She was a tremendous giver to charities and her family. Having no children of her own, Ruby loved and shared with the children of her siblings, James, Etoir and Elma.

Ruby never lost her joy of life whether it was watching Sanford and Son or laughing with visitors. She passed away peacefully at the age of 103 at home with her nephew, Kern, his wife, Karen (where she lived since 2015), niece, Gloria Marlene and caregiver, Sandy Adams by her side.