Heaven gained another angel in the form of Ruth Amis Norwood Neal, September 30th. Ruth Amis, as she was affectionately known, was born in the early 1930’s to Marshall and Lillian Norwood. She was married to Ben Jones Neal. They had three beautiful daughters.

She was a good friend and loved spending time with her family, always inviting family, neighbors and friends to eat and play cards, she especially loved bridge! She loved gallivanting with her friends, dancing with her husband Ben and helping anyone in the community that needed a little help. Ruth Amis was always one of the first people to arrive when someone was in need or had lost a family member. She was a good friend to have in your corner when you needed it and always there to listen when someone needed a shoulder.

She took great pleasure in telling stories (Ruth Amis was a really good storyteller!). Her all-time favorite story to tell was, one day when she was a little girl, she had stayed home from church because she was sick. Gus, who worked for her parents, was taking care of her. Ruth Amis thought the baby chicks needed to take a little nap, so she gently tucked their heads under their wings “like their momma’s did”, laid them down and covered them with a blanket. When her momma came home, she wanted to know what happened to her chicks. And Ruth Amis told her they needed a nap, only to find out that’s not how baby chicks nap! She had broken their necks “and they were sleeping real good.” As momma would say, with a wry smile on her face.

Ruth Amis is survived by her 3 daughters Lillian, Elizabeth and Benjie; her grandchildren Wayne, Jonah, Catori, Benjamin and Sarah; and her great-grandchildren Evin, Norah, Nicholas, Iago, Sophia, Veruca, Charlie and Tommy.

In lieu of flowers, we request that donations be mailed to Medi Home Hospice with a note saying it is in memory of Ruth Neal. The address is 1955 Newland Highway, PO Box 1357, Newland, NC. 28657.

Gentry-Newell & Vaughan and Groce Funeral Home are caring for the Neal family. Online memorials may be made to: www.gnvfuneralhome.com