Ruth Skelton McMullen

Ruth Skelton McMullen, 90, passed away December 14, 2024 at Providence Place Assisted Living in Senatobia.

Ruth made all her children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren feel as if they were her pet pick. All were special in her eyes, and she was always there for anyone of them. She attended all activities for them for as long as she could; be it plays, hockey, softball, gymnastics, cheer, football, soccer, band competitions, and band concerts.

Ruth loved to cook, sew, travel, work in her yard, but most importantly she loved serving God. Ruth sewed for many schools and for Northwest Mississippi Community College. She would make uniforms for drum majors, fix uniforms for band members and make the color guard costumes. She made costumes for the Northwest College Art Department plays. She made dishpan cookies and banana nut bread for the concessions for the proceeds to go to the Theater Department.

She also made dishpan cookies and banana bread for shut ins, Senatobia Fire and Police Department, Tate County Sheriff Department, Senatobia High School Band away games for the bus rides for her kids and grandkids, and for the MS Riverkings Hockey away games for their bus rides as well. She would also make these for anyone needing them for bake sales.

Ruth made lap covers, bibbs, aprons, and hospital type gowns for bedridden shut- ins and the nursing home. She made blankets for St. Jude Hospital patients. She put together hundreds of Christmas shoe boxes. She enjoyed spending time with her friend, Judy Scott. They would shop and go to McDonald’s.  They always got Happy Meals so they could get the toys for the shoe boxes and the apple slices for the goats at Judy’s.  They went to the headquarters to help with boxing and shipping the Christmas shoeboxes to the countries.

Ruth put together 138 large crates to be shipped to the Dominican Republic.  These crates contained clothes for all, toys, household items, sewing machines, threads and material.  When she got to the Dominican she taught sewing.

Ruth felt God laid it on her heart to make 25,000 dresses for missions.  In 2019, she had made 21,000 and going strong, at the time of the newspaper article.  She met what she felt God led her to do.  She would send dresses with anyone she heard was going on a mission trip. God’s dresses made it to several continents. 

Ruth loved to travel.  She visited every state in the U.S.  She went to Israel, Africa, and the Dominican Republic. 

Ruth loved to live life to the fullest.

Ruth was preceded in death by her parents, Harve and Pearl Kizer Skelton; brothers, Clyde Skelton (Sue), Elton Campbell Skelton, Leroy Skelton (Annie Mae), Glenn Skelton (Vickie), Billy Skelton (Kat); sisters, Erma Carr (Colbert), Laverne Griffin (Leo), El’Dean Kimbrel (Bob), Edna Walker (Morris), and brother-in-law, Robert McLaughlin; 2 grandchildren, and 2 great grandchildren. She is survived by her children, Daniel McMullen (Ruth), Randy Ray McMullen, Barbara Simmons (Pat), Mary Carol Bynum (Clyde), Glenn “Chip” McMullen, Lester “Chuck” McMullen Jr. (Cindy); sister, Ann McLaughlin; 18 grandchildren, 42 great grandchildren, 13 great-great grandchildren, and 2 on the way. Ruth was a member of Highland Baptist Church. Memorial donations may be sent to Highland Baptist Church Mission Fund.

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