Ruth Nunez Ayala, age 84, of Little Elm, Texas, went to be with the Lord on Saturday, March 17, 2018, after a long battle with Parkinson’s Disease. Ruth was born to Daniel Nunez and Rebecca Jimenez Nunez on March 14, 1934.
For many years, Ruth was a teacher in both public and private Christian schools. This was her calling and her passion. She earned her Bachelor’s Degree of Science in Education from Howard Payne University in Brownwood, Texas, in 1956. It was at Howard Payne where Ruth met Silvester Ayala. They were married on June 1, 1959, in Houston.
After a brief stay in San Antonio, Texas, she and Sil were called into Christian social ministry for the Baptist Home Mission Board, and moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico, to start a new Christian social ministry called Friendship Center. Fueled by her love of early childhood education, Ruth started a kindergarten there. During her years in New Mexico she earned an early childhood specialist certification, and taught public elementary school in Albuquerque as well as in Alamogordo, New Mexico.
In 1975, she and Sil moved to San Antonio where he took a teaching position at the Hispanic Baptist Theological Seminary. Ruth taught early childhood classes to seminary students at the seminary for two years before taking a public school teaching position at Lockehill Elementary. She retired from her teaching career in 1994, however, remained active in children’s education ministries at church doing Sunday School and vacation bible school.
Ruth and Sil moved to Little Elm, Texas, in 2011 to be closer to their daughter, Susan, and their grandchildren. She served at local churches in children’s education and tutored local children in reading, math, and other subjects.
She is survived by her husband, Dr. Silvester Ayala; her children, Daniel Stephen Ayala and his wife, Cindy, of Brentwood, Tennessee, and Susan Ayala Hancock and her husband, Alan, of Plano, Texas; her grandchildren Randall S. Bland, Taylor Ayala, Austin Ayala, Michael Ayala, Brian Bland, and Jennifer Hancock; sister, Naomi N. Ybarra and her husband, Isador, of Porter, Texas; cousin, Dora Espinoza of Houston, Texas; numerous nieces and nephews.
Ruth was preceded in death by her parents, Daniel and Rebecca Nunez.
A funeral service will be held at Turrentine-Jackson-Morrow Funeral Home on Thursday, March 22, 2018, at 2:00 p.m., with a visitation prior to service starting at 12:00 p.m.