Mrs. Ruby R. Davis was born December 27, 1917, in Macedonia, Columbia County, Arkansas. She was a homemaker and civic leader who spent decades spearheading community improvement efforts in Fordyce, Arkansas. Ruby was the youngest of six children of Mattie Powell Russ and the Reverend Mitchell Walter Russ. The family moved to Fordyce when her father was called to minister at Mt. Tabor Baptist Church. Ruby was 3 years old. At Mt.Tabor, she accepted her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and was a life time member. Ruby married Clarence Sterling Davis in 1935 and later gave birth to a son, the first of her family of eight boys and one girl. Ruby spent most of her life in Fordyce. The family moved to Alameda, California, in 1943 so that Sterling could work in a shipyard during World War II. After the war, the family returned to Fordyce in 1946. Ruby was known for her kindness, generosity and good humor. She was an active and outgoing person who enjoyed helping people. She worked to improve her community, especially in the church where she served as a Mt. Tabor Baptist Church Sunday School Teacher and the school band Boosters Club. Ruby helped to organize various community assistance and improvement projects through the church and the United Way of Fordyce. Desiring to take a more active role to address some of the social and economic needs of those less fortunate, Ruby persuaded three friends to join her in forming the Elegant Ladies Club, a Fordyce civic group that sponsors fundraising drives to raise money for scholarships and other needs. Ruby, United Way and Elegant Ladies Club were recognized for their efforts and awarded a plaque for decades of public service by Arkansas Governor Jim Guy Tucker in 1991. She was a campaign worker for Governor Nelson Rockefeller and Governor Bill Clinton. Ruby devoted herself to her family and helping others. Ruby was preceded in death by her husband and her sons, Clarence, Sterling, Jimmy and Andre. Ruby went home to be with the Lord on June 22, 2013. She leaves to cherish her memory: her daughter, Jean (Warren Culver); sons, Thomas (Sharon), Frantz (Tammy), Royce and Ronnie; dozens of grandchildren, great-grandchildren, nieces, nephews, and close friends. Mrs. Ruby Davis will lie in repose on Tuesday, June 25, 3-6 pm at the Riley Funeral Home. Funeral service will be held on Wednesday, June 26, 2 pm at Friendship Baptist Church, 2912 Pleasant Grove, Lansing, MI