In Loving Memory of
Ruth Virginia Deyo
Sunrise May 18, 1933 · Sunset July 21, 2026
“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith
”2 Timothy 4:7 NKJV

On Tuesday, July 21, 2026, God called Ruth Virginia Deyo home. She left this life peacefully surrounded by the love of her family. She leaves behind a legacy of strength, faith, and love that will carry on through generations. 

Born May 18, 1933, in Caroline County, Virginia, Ruth Virginia was the eighth of eighteen children born to the late Moses and Pearl Ruth (Smith) Foxx. One of the older children, she would live to be the last of the eighteen. Growing up, she was known to her brothers and sisters as “G-Cake.” She accepted Christ at an early age and joined Jericho Baptist Church in her childhood years. She received her education in the Caroline County Public Schools, and after high school she struck out on her own for Washington, D.C., where her first job was in the cafeteria at Georgetown University.

Ruth was united in marriage to the late Ruben Deyo on April 21, 1956, and to this union three children were born: Theresa, Dorothy, and Ruben Jr. They shared fifty six years of marriage until his passing in 2012. In those early years the family lived on Massachusetts Avenue, and nearly all of Ruth’s brothers and sisters were raising young children of their own. Ruth watched many of them while their parents worked, as many as seven at a time, all the while keeping a spotless house and cooking dinner every day. Everybody on the avenue knew it, and neighbors would stop by just to ask whether she had made collard greens. Years later, after the family had moved to 17th Street and her own children were grown, she went back to work: as a caregiver for Mr. H.B. Atkins until his health failed and then for his wife until hers did, and at night, part time, cleaning government office buildings. She also volunteered at her grandchildren’s elementary school. Through it all, Ruben worked six, and often seven, days a week at a local store. She was famous for her sweet potato and coconut pies, which she handed out to everyone at the holidays, and she never once failed to make Monk his beans with smoked neck bones.

To her grandchildren, Grandma was the one who held it all together, walking them to school, cooking their breakfast, and making sure nobody in her house ever went hungry. She loved her stories, The Young and the Restless most of all, and kept up with Victor Newman for years.

Ruth carried her faith with her, and Sunday mornings meant gospel music, no exceptions. She was a bit of a diva. Makeup was a must even if she was only going as far as the kitchen, everything had to match, she dressed up for her doctor’s appointments, and she rarely left the house without her shades. She loved being outside, and she took her walk every day.

After Ruben’s passing she moved to Rockville, Maryland, and her family arranged itself around her: Theresa and her grandsons Bradley and Brandon, then Dorothy, then Cedric close by, with Ashley visiting often. She had given to her family her whole life, and in Rockville they gave it back. Ruth “Sis” Edwards sent flowers and fruit baskets often. Melvin came every month with her favorite homemade pound cake from down the country. Shaun Prince and Cachita Wilson came bringing fried chicken, potato salad, and string beans. Hardly a week passed without somebody at the door. She was surrounded by love.

Her favorite stop was Panera, every day, for the bagels. Asked once why they were going there again, she answered simply, “Because I love this place.” When the family later packed up everything and moved to Los Angeles, they drove her across the country in an RV, seven days with a stop in Las Vegas, where she arrived in the middle of the night ready for the casino and left the penny slots with more than anybody. In Los Angeles, Porto’s Bakery took Panera’s place, and she celebrated her ninety-third birthday in Beverly Hills.

Ruth was fiercely independent to the end. If she could do it herself, she did, and she never saw herself as a patient. “I got it,” she would say, and she usually did. She was a true fighter who never gave up. Everyone who met her felt her charm immediately; strangers would turn to her family and say, “Your grandmother is so adorable.” And anyone who gave her a little trouble heard it quick: “It’s nice to be important, but it’s more important to be nice.” She will be remembered for her generosity, her resilience, her flair, and for making everyone who walked through her door feel at home.

In addition to her parents and her husband, Ruben Deyo, she was preceded in death by nine brothers, Roy, Moses, James, Willie, Clarence, Robert, Richard, Alfred, and Melvin Foxx; eight sisters, Julia Hudson, Pearl Fenwick, Dorothy Matthews, Beatrice Gray, Alice Baylor, Ethel Foxx, Brenda Johnson, and Cachita Myers; and her granddaughter, Cachita Wilson.

Ruth leaves to cherish many fond memories and joy to her children, Theresa Deyo, Dorothy Stewart, and Ruben “Monk” Deyo, Jr. (Loretta); six grandchildren, Cedric Stewart (Niambi), Ashley Bennett (Raymond), Brandon Deyo, Bradley Deyo, Shaun Prince, and Ryan Deyo; six great-grandchildren, Earl Stewart, Aijah Simmons, Rasaan Bennett, Magnolia Stewart, Trayvon Wilson, and Ryan Deyo Jr.; a devoted niece, Ruth “Sis” Edwards (Nathan); a devoted nephew, Melvin Foxx, Jr.; and a host of nieces, nephews, cousins, other relatives and friends.

Services
The Celebration of Life service will be held on Saturday, September 12, 2026, at 11:00 a.m. at Jerusalem Baptist Church, 21180 Bagby Road, Bowling Green, Virginia, with a viewing beginning at 10:00 a.m.

Interment will follow in the Jerusalem Baptist Church Cemetery.

Acknowledgement
The family of Ruth Virginia Deyo acknowledges with sincere gratitude the many acts of kindness, gestures of love, friendship, and prayers extended to them during this time. May God continue to keep you in His ever-loving care.        — The Family