Ruthie Byndom's Obituary
Private services for Ruthie Byndom,91, of Lufkin will be held on Saturday. Visitation will be on Friday, December 18, 2020, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Mrs. Byndom was on December 16, 1928, in San Augustine died Sunday, December 13, 2020, in Lufkin.
As the matriarch of the Byndom family, Ruthie Mae encouraged her family to live their lives with strength, generosity, and above all, faith.
Ruthie Mae was born to Tom and Lela Watkins on December 16th, 1928, in San Augustine, Texas. As the eldest of eleven children, Ruthie learned early the importance of caring for others. Affectionately called “Ruth” by her friends and she was always ready and willing to help anyone in need.
She attended public school in Center, Texas. In 1945, Ruthie married C.D. Byndom, and they moved to Lufkin, Texas, where they would start their family and raise six children.
Ruthie was active and loved being outdoors. Walking was one of her favorite pastimes. She would walk a minimum of two miles a day, every day until her illness prevented her from doing so. She also enjoyed fishing and gardening. She took great pride in her garden and loved spending as much time as she could working in the flowerbed.
When indoors, Ruthie was a fantastic seamstress and loved quilting. She often made quilts for her friends and later for her many grandchildren. She could also spend hours at a time working on word search puzzles, canning her “pickled squash” and “chichi cabbage,” and baking her “famous” sweet potato pies.
She loved singing and would gather her daughters on Saturday evenings to have their private concerts.
Ruthie instilled within her family a love for the Lord Jesus Christ. She was a devout Christian and attended First Missionary Baptist Church, where she served faithfully until her death. She was a member of the First Missionary Baptist Mass Choir and participated in the mission society.
Ruthie believed there was no better way to set Christ’s example on earth than through generosity and lifting people up. She understood the joy that could be brought to the world if everyone were a little “selfless” now and again.
Throughout her life, Ruthie Mae set an example for her family, that everything you do must be done in a spirit of excellence, no matter how large or small the task. Excellence is the legacy that Ruthie leaves to her five children, nineteen grandchildren, and thirty-seven great-grandchildren who they knew as “Maw Maw”.
Ruthie Mae is preceded in death by her husband, C.D. Byndom, and her daughter Edna Hunt.
She leaves to cherish her memory five children: Mary Hubbard, Shirley Sneed, Lynda Walker (Timothy), Katheleen Ransom (Tommy), C.D. Byndom II (Karen); stepson, Cleon D. Kirkland; two sisters, Tommie McConnell, Bobbie Swagington; one brother, Lewis Henry Watkins.
“I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.” 2 Timothy 4:7-8 KJV.
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