Ruth Beavers

Remembrance services for “Ms. Ruth” will be held Thursday, March 27, 2025, at 10:30AM in Feazel Chapel at First West followed by a Celebration of Life / First Heavenly Birthday Party in Tennyson Hall from 11:30AM-1:00PM.

 Private graveside services were provided under the direction of Mulhearn Funeral Home, West Monroe. Ruth was born in Minden, Louisiana on March 27, 1930. 

She took her last breath in Brandon, Florida February 9, 2025  holding her son's hand. She was preceded in death by her beloved husband, DeWeise Lane Beavers; daughter, Debra Susan Beavers, parents, John Thomas McDaniel and Ethel Wade Cail; brother, Johnnie Douglas McDaniel; and great granddaughter, Sophia Kate Boyle. Those left to cherish her memory are son, Terry Lane Beavers (Linda); daughter, Rhonda Beavers Evans (Tony); grandchildren, Natasha Ryan (Martin), Kyle Kelly (Jacqueline), Carla Wilson Capps, Jason Wilson (Erika), Marcy Wilson, Zachary Evans (Shannon), Sarah Beth Boyle (Kyler); and great grandchildren, Sean Ryan, Killian Ryan, Aiden Ryan, Autumn Capps, Damon Wilson, Stella Boyle and Karlee Jo Boyle. 

 Ms. Ruth’s family farmed in Northeast Louisiana. Due to the 1927 floods, they relocated briefly to Minden. She spent her formative years in Monticello, Shreveport and Monroe graduating from Ouachita Parish High School. Ruth married DeWeise Beavers in November 1948. They owned and operated a diesel business in Monroe eventually moving the dealership to Vicksburg, Mississippi. After many years, they sold the business and returned to Ouachita Parish.

 Ruth loved gardening, fishing and playing games. She met weekly with friends and family to play cards (Uno & Skip Bo), Dominoes or Rummikub. She also found great joy in supporting her community. She volunteered with the St. Francis Medical Center Auxiliary (SFMCA) for twenty years holding several key officer roles including Auxiliary President, serving on the SFMCA Foundation Board and representing SFMCA at Louisiana Hospital Auxiliary Association statewide meetings. She greeted many NELA residents at the St. Francis front desk and the gift shop but most remember her as “Ms. Ruth” in surgical waiting. Rodney Alexander, House of Representatives, presented Ruth with the George Bush sponsored 2011 "Points of Light" award and as a recipient her name was published in the Congressional Record Page E497. She was honored as the 2003 Volunteer of the Year, 2010 Points of Life National USA Volunteer of the Day (November 30), the 2011 President Obama Volunteer Service Award, the 2018 Outstanding Service Hours recognition and a 2018 Delta Style Healthcare Hero finalist. 

 Her great love of fishing and the outdoors led to her involvement with Friends of Black Bayou Wildlife Refuge greeting visitors and supporting the programs for our local school children. She represented the Refuge at National conferences in Florida and Washington DC. She helped raise and secure additional funds to move and restore an old farmhouse which is currently used as a visitor center and gift shop.

 Each year, she supported the fundraising efforts of KEDM on the ULM campus speaking on air sharing her volunteer experiences and encouraging others to find their place in the volunteer community.

 Ruth was baptized as a teenager at Emmanuel Baptist in downtown Monroe. During the early years of marriage, she and husband, DeWeise were chartering members of North Monroe Baptist. Most recently, she was a faithful servant at First West sharing her time with church family as event decorator, greeter, Wednesday evening food service team member and Bible school teacher.

 Her greatest love was working with American Cancer Society, Relay for Life, and Race for the Cure activities. Ruth was diagnosed with her first cancer in 1963. She faced thyroid, colon, lung, skin and bladder cancer. She began work as a member of the Survivor Committee at ACS Relay for Life in 2003 and was Survivor Committee Chair for many years. She loved celebrating the wins and championing the victories honoring each survivor with a celebration meal, bingo game, cake walk, and entertainment. NELA Relay for Life honored Ruth as the 2017 Survivor of the Year. She gave back to cancer research because there have been so many medical advancements in treatment and survival rates.

 Ms. Ruth would be honored with flowers at her Celebration of Life on March 27. If one prefers, a donation may be made in her honor to support healthcare with the St. Francis Hospital Auxiliary or with the Ruth Beavers Relay for Life “Lagniappe” memorial team.             

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