Ruby M. Speed

Ruby M. Speed, 101, Pawnee, passed away at her home, Tuesday, December 6, 2016. She was born to Oliver E. Muck and Edna (Conley) Muck, at their residence, south of Blackburn, on May 9, 1915.Ruby was the third of four children born to Oliver and Edna. Ruby's siblings were Howard, Thelma, and Wanda.Ruby attended primary school at Pleasant Mound, a one-room school southwest of Blackburn. She later attended and graduated from Pawnee High School in 1932 at the age of 17.She then attended college in Edmond and during the summer, went to work for the Mullendore Gas Company in Pawnee, then received a promotion and relocated to Tulsa. While there, she attended business college. She married and had two children, Roger Brashear and Debra (Brashear) Simpson.She eventually moved to Corpus Christi, Texas  and was a real estate broker. She remarried and became a partner of a construction company that built homes and shopping centers. In 1957, she moved to Huntsville, Alabama, where she worked for the government. In 1960 she worked at NASA. She moved to Jackson, Mississippi, again working for another government agency. She was an avid hunter and fisherman wherever she lived.The health of her parents brought Ruby back to Pawnee in 1970. She saw to their care while working for Soil Conservation at OSU in Stillwater until she retired. She also kept cattle and bought and renovated distressed houses.Ruby is preceded in death by her parents, Oliver and Edna Muck; her siblings, Howard Muck, Thelma (Muck) Tyler, and Wanda (Muck) Graham.Survivors include her son, Roger Brashear of Pawnee; Debra B. Simpson, Huntsville, Alabama; grandson, Steven Brashear of Orlando, Florida; grandchildren, Demetra and Lee Haymes, Huntsville, Alabama; Zac and Rachel, Simpson of Thompson Station, Tennessee; and great granddaughter, Ruby Haymes of Huntsville; and her dog, Sugar.Funeral services will be held Saturday, December 17, 2016, 2:00 p.m., in the Pawnee First United Methodist Church, Rev. Don Brown, Rev. Susan Ross, and Rev. Vera Walton, officiating.Burial will follow at Highland Cemetery, under the direction of Poteet Funeral Home and Crematory.