Eva Ruth Kerley

"God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore, we will not fear." Psalm 46:1-2 A funeral service for Mrs. Eva Ruth Thompson Kerley, age 93 years, four months, and sixteen days, will be held at 11:00 a.m. Friday, July 5, 2019 at Rose-Neath Southside Chapel, 2500 Southside Dr. in Shreveport with her nephew, Dr. John E. Kerley, officiating. Interment will follow at Forest Park East Cemetery. Visitation will be held from 10:00 a.m. until service time at the funeral home. Honorary pallbearers will be James W. Kerley and L.C. Cathey, Jr. Ruth was born on February 13, 1926 near Lewisville, Arkansas and entered her rest on June 29, 2019 at Bradford Senior Guest Care in Shreveport. Ruth was a resident of Shreveport for nearly 80 years. She was a graduate of Fair Park High School, after moving from Lewisville at the age of fourteen. Ruth was an excellent student, finishing as salutatorian of her class of 300 students. She was employed by the Shreveport Chamber of Commerce and more recently at Kansas City Southern Railroad for twenty years. Ruth enjoyed crafts of all kinds, including doll making, sewing, crocheting, and needlepoint. She was an avid fan of country music and gospel hymns. Her favorite performers were Marty Robbins and Elvis Presley. She also loved to see and listen to big band sounds of The Lawrence Welk Show. Most of all, she loved Jesus and her family. Her favorite part of the Bible was the Book of Ruth, her namesake, which she preferred over Eva. Ruth was preceded in death by her parents, Alta Owlsley Thompson and Henry Lawrence Thompson; her only child, Merrick Mason; and her beloved and devoted husband of 56 years, Joseph Lewis Kerley. Left to cherish her memory are her only granddaughter, Kay Bassett of Spring, Texas; five great-grandchildren; two great-great-grandchildren; as well as nieces and nephews, principally James W. Kerley, John E. Kerley, L.C. Cathey, Jr., and Virginia Fulmer. A special thanks to the devoted employees of The Bradford Senior Care Center, Regional Hospice, the communion teams of the University Church of Christ, where she was a member, and to personal sitters, Doris Church, Taffy Church, and Tramon Church. Ruth was a model of perseverance and integrity under any and all of life's circumstances. She will be missed by all who knew and loved her.