Ruby Ella Rhodes, 97, of Oxford

Ruby Ella Rhodes of Oxford, Michigan passed away on May 28, 2023. She was 97 years old.

Ruby was born and raised in Pontiac, Michigan. She attended Pontiac schools and graduated from Pontiac High School in 1943. After graduation, she worked in a clothing store as the bookkeeper before being married and having children, after which she had two children and spent time at home.

In the late 1950s, Ruby returned to work at General Motors, then in 1960 took a job at the newly formed Oakland University (at that time it was MSU-O) as part of the administrative professional staff. She remained there until 1984 when she and her husband, George Freeman, went to Egypt with George working on a defense department contract, at which point she retired. In her last years at Oakland, she served as an administrative assistant to the Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, in charge of budget control.

Ruby traveled widely throughout the continental United States and Hawaii with her first husband, Bob Rhodes, and their children, Paul and Sue. Bob passed away in 1978. She remarried in 1982.
Her travels with George took them to numerous sites in the world, as far north as Alaska and the Arctic Circle, as far south as the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa, as far west as California, and as far east as Australia, including most of Western Europe.

Her favorite destination was the whole of the United Kingdom, in particular, London, where she loved to visit her favorite sites and shop at Harrods, her favorite store. This means of travel, varied and included rail, airplane, helicopter, hot air balloon, camel, elephant and even an ostrich on one occasion. She loved it all.

Ruby became a gourmet cook, and an expert quilter (always by hand, being the perfectionist and the purist that she was), an expert cross-stitcher, and an excellent and avid bridge player.

But most of all, Ruby loved her family and doted on them as much and as often as possible. The highlight of any given year would be her standing rib/crown roast of pork dinner that she prepared at Christmas time. Ruby had a glorious adventure-filled life, for which she was always duly thankful.

She is survived by her spouse, George Feeman; two children, Sue Owen (Dave) and Paul Rhodes (Sylvia); four grandchildren, Melissa Korff (Mark), Jennifer Rhodes (Paul Immoos), Laura Breckner (Peter) and Bobby Rhodes (Hannah); and eight great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by four brothers and sisters, Arnold (Dorothy), Bob (Doris), Deb (Moe) and Joe (Dawn).

A memorial service will be held at a later date. Reflections may be shared with the family at www.sparksgriffin.com.

One response to “Ruby Ella Rhodes, 97, of Oxford”

  1. What a wonderful tribute to your Grandma Ruby. We will miss her. I am so glad that I invited Ruby and George for Easter dinner this year at my house with Mark, Melissa and kids. She had a full life, and a family that loved her.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *