Ruby Mae was born on October 21, 1927 at the family home in Vancleve, Breathitt County, Kentucky. She was the fifth child of eight born to Liberty Banks and Prudie Mae Vancleve. Although the timing and source of her nickname “Jackie” is unknown, it seems to have been while still a child in Kentucky. In 1992, Jackie legally changed her name to Ruby Jackie Mae (she could not bear to drop Ruby and Mae since those were names given to her by her mother).
Not long after the death of her father in 1934, Prudie and her seven living children and one grandchild she was raising moved to Wisconsin to be close to Prudie’s brother Bill.
In the early 1940s the family moved to Elgin, Illinois. While in Elgin, Jackie supported the war effort working in a machine shop.
Prudie met future husband Anthony Hebeisen in Elgin. After Anthony took a job at Sundstrand in Denver, he persuaded Jackie to move to Denver in 1946. Her first jobs in Denver were at the Gates Rubber Company and Montgomery Wards. Later she went to work as a machinist for Anderson Forester then for Stanley Aviation. Her dexterity earned her high praise from her bosses.
While in Denver, Jackie met Harry Wiese at Lakeside Amusement Park, and after a whirlwind romance they married. At that time, Harry was in the Air Force, stationed at Lowry. Following ten years as a civilian in the Denver area, he reenlisted in the aviation wing of the Army and was stationed at Fort Rucker in Alabama.
Jackie had quit school in the 10th grade because she only had one dress to wear and they would not let her wear pants. But Jackie recognized the importance of an education and received her high school diploma while in Alabama. She later graduated from George Wallace Junior College where she had learned how to write programs by hard wiring computers.
Harry had two tours in Hawaii. In Hawaii Jackie had one of her favorite jobs - selling diamonds and pearls for Caribe Diamonds. For a brief period, she was also a long-distance operator for the Hawaiian telephone company, where she was able to eaves drop on conversations including those of celebrities like Don Ho.
Upon their return to Colorado. Jackie became a school bus driver for Jefferson County with her favorite route being that of Coal Creek Canyon. She loved participating in the annual School Bus Rodeos.
Harry and Jackie decided to part ways in 1974. About that time her friends Sonny and Lois Smith introduced her to Russell Richard Lambert, the love of her life. Russ and Jackie married in November 1975. Russ had been working in Colorado but longed to return to his home base of Trenton, Texas. In 1976 they packed all their belongings and headed to Texas where they purchased land and built a home.
Russ primarily built post offices in Texas and surrounding states, sometimes selling the buildings to others at completion, but often retaining the buildings and renting them back to the US Postal Service. Jackie was the bookkeeper for Russ (in the day when books were kept on long yellow ledger sheets), tracking expenses related to building construction and handling all the paperwork that goes with maintaining rental properties. Jackie continued to maintain books and manage the rental properties until about six years ago.
Jackie loved spending time with all family members, but especially with her grandchildren. She spent many hours teaching them to drive on the back of her land, playing duck duck goose, going with them on “safaris” down by the creek, taking them to the pumpkin patch then hosting their Halloween parties, and assisting with their collection of Beanie Babies.
She always took pride in the home Russ built for her, ensuring all aspects, inside and outside of the house were immaculate (she never saw a piece of lint on the floor that she was able to walk past without bending to retrieve it). She loved sitting on her front porch swing with her dog Tandy by her side and looking out at her well-tended grass, flowers, and trees.
Jackie and Russ loved to travel when they could make the time to get away, often visiting friends and relatives in Colorado, Wisconsin, Illinois, Kentucky, and Nebraska, with special vacations (snow birding) in locales such as Arizona and Alaska. As the state magnets on her refrigerator attest, they were able to visit nearly every state.
When Russ’ health began to fail in 2005 Jackie barely left his side, making sure he was well cared for by nurses and aides.
Shortly after losing Russ in 2006, she met and married Bobby Vinson. Bobby and Jackie also enjoyed traveling, with a trip to Mexico for their honeymoon, a Panama cruise, and a Christmas Rhine River Cruise. Bobby was by her side until his passing in 2019.
Jackie was a devoted member of Trenton First Baptist Church.
The last year was very difficult for Jackie and her friends and family, with COVID restrictions keeping her primary isolated in her room at Beacon Hill and severely limiting phone calls and visits.
Jackie passed away Sunday, January 24, 2021 at Beacon Hill Transitional Care Center in Denison.
Jackie outlived all of her siblings, Gladys Banks, Sarah Michalek, Gertrude Hay, Hiram Banks, Geneva Lueker, Bertha Quist-Lefco, and Madeline Wilkes. She is survived by four children Anthony Gary (Judy) Wiese, Sheryl (John) Beezley, Rusty (Carolyn) Lambert, and Cathy (Mike) Cullison, 8 grandchildren, 14 great grandchildren, 1 great great granddaughter.
In lieu of flowers the family requests that donations be made to Fannin County Children’s Center. http://www.fanninccc.org
Graveside Services will be held 2:00PM Friday, January 29, 2021 at Burns Cemetery, Trenton, Texas. Brother Dan Gurley will officiate. A Come and Go visitation will be held 10AM to 5PM Thursday, January 28, 2021 at Turrentine-Jackson-Morrow Funeral Home, Whitewright, Texas.