Ruth Opal Alexander

Ruth Opal Alexander was born on October 1, 1939. She was the fifth out of seven children to Opal and Alice Rodgerson. She was born in Flint, MI and raised there in a little one bedroom house full of love on Gainey Street. She was adored by her siblings for her gentle heart and she adored all her family and their closeness. Sometimes her siblings called her Goofy Ruthie because of her playful ways and sense of humor. That stuck with her into adulthood and she passed it on to her kids.

Ruths mother, Alice, walked all seven of her children each week to their local church, and instilled in Ruth a deep love of The Lord which she one day instilled in her own children. She was a prayer warrior and always enjoyed being part of her local church family.

When Ruth was sixteen she went to visit her sister, Elaine, who was attending college in Kernersville, NC and it was there that she met the tall, dark, and handsome David Alexander. It was love at first sight. They struck up a long distance relationship that went on for about a year, and after graduating high school they married at age seventeen in Oak Ridge, Tennessee on July 13, 1957.

David and Ruth lived in Oak Ridge, Tennessee in their early years together and during those years had their first three children, Cheri, Mike, and Tammy. Their last child, Joe, was born in Flint, MI.

Ruth was a beloved mother who nurtured, loved, and cared for her children consistently. She was a fun loving mother who enjoyed laughter and fun in the home. She worked hard to encourage a love of God and prayed faithfully for her children from their births and on into adulthood.

As the children grew older and more independent, she began to work outside the home as a home health care provider. She did this for the health department, and for private providers, and eventually supervised a staff of home health providers in Phoenix, AZ. She always had a deep love and concern for the elderly. It was what made her an exceptional home health provider.

Ruth also had a deep love for little babies and children in general. She always wanted to be a mother from the time she was a very small little girl herself. She was a loving grandmother, a beloved mother, and a faithful and loving wife.

No one met Ruth who didnt appreciate her beauty (inside and out), her heart, and her love of God and other people. She will be missed by many. God welcomed a most lovely new resident to heaven on the morning of Monday October 26, 2015.

She is preceded in death by her father, Opal Rodgerson, her mother Alice Foster, her brothers, Jesse Rodgerson, and Joe Rodgerson, and her sister Elaine Asbury.

She leaves behind her loving husband, David Alexander of Julian, NC, her daughter, Cheri Bronson and her husband Duane Bronson of Blanchard, MI and their children, Krista, Adam, Isaiah, Elijah, Shakinah, and Cherish, her son Michael Alexander and his wife, Benita Alexander of Mountain Grove, MO and their children Ashley A., Aaron, Rachel, Ashley D., and Nathaniel, her daughter, Tamara Mueller and her husband Shawn Mueller, and their children Lilian and Zane, and her son, Joe Alexander and his wife Jennifer Alexander, of Julian, NC and their children Justin, Joshua, Colton, Samuel, and Jillian, and her great-grandchildren Reese Carter, Julian Umbright, Luca Alexander, and Isabella Cameron. Also, her siblings James Rodgerson, of Tucson, AZ, Raymond Rodgerson, of Muskegon, MI, and Helen Moore, of Jackson, MI.

A capable, intelligent, and virtuous womanwho can find her? She is far more precious than jewels and her value is far above rubies or pearls. Proverbs 31:10