Ruthalie Heffner

Ruthalie Wayman Heffner was born on December 28, 1914, the first of twelve children, at Goltry, Garfield County, Oklahoma to Jesse and Mildred Wayman. The Waymans had a family farm, and all the children were expected to do their share of the work. Ruthalie had her chores too, but as each of the children were born, Ruthalie stood by her mother to help care for them. When the seventh boy was born, both she and her mother cried. She attended a one room school house at Fairview crossroads, later graduating to Goltry High School, where she received her diploma in 1930 at fifteen. She returned home and helped her mother with the family and worked on the farm. At eighteen, she started dating Lee Roy Heffner, whose parents ran the local grocery and merchantile store in Goltry. Ruthalie and Lee Roy soon moved to Edmond, Oklahoma where they were married in 1933. They worked and attended college and Lee Roy and his father built them a small bungalow house. During the Depression years they scraped by like everyone else and had their son Jim in 1935. After that they moved to Southern California in 1941 where Lee Roy started working for Lockheed Aircraft Company. Ruthalie worked as a home mom through the war years, having two more children, David and Margaret. Her extra time went to Christian service at the First Baptist Church of Sunland. She went back to school herself in mid-life and received her Masters in Education. She was teaching at the Saticoy Street School in the San Fernando Valley and completed 14 years. Her church work mostly involved Christian education, but she was also involved in missions, Pioneer Clubs and the Church Council. She continued faithfully at the Sunland Church for 47 years, and during that time she also served the American Baptist Churches graduating from Greenlake Lab School in 1958. She then taught around the Pacific West in teacher training then curriculum counseling. She taught Release-Time classes in the San Fernando Valley for many years. When the Heffners retired and moved to Niland, California they were called by the Thermal Baptist Church to serve as missionary resouce persons. They did Christian Ed and community relations as well as Release Time work. In 2003 they moved to Show Low, Arizona to live near their daughter, Margaret Brown. Ruthalie and Lee Roy joined New Hope Christian Fellowship and she served as she could in her long history of Christian Service. She taught Sunday School at NHCF in her 90's. She was preceded in death by her husband, Lee Roy Heffner and her son, Jim Heffner. She is survived by her son, David Heffner and wife Denise; her daughter, Margaret Brown and husband Pastor Tom Brown; grandchildren, Debbie Taylor, Cindy Kushner, Jennifer Crippen; Kimberly Heffner Huff, Tracy Heffner, Kevin Heffner, Angela Brown Woods, Clint Brown, Jesse Brown, Andrew Brown and several great-grandchildren. Funeral Services will be held at 2:00 P.M. Saturday, September 10, 2011 at Owens Livingston Mortuary - White Mountain Chapel, 320 N. 9th Street, Show Low, Arizona with a viewing one-hour prior to services. Concluding Services and Interment will be held at the Show Low City Cemetery. Donations in her memory may be made to Life for India, First Baptist Church of Sunland, California, or New Hope Christian Fellowship building fund in Show Low, Arizona.