I AM THE MOST BLESSED PERSON IN THE WORLD:
AN INTERVIEW WITH RUTH GEARY
Smart and talented and pretty, Ruth Geary had more than one proposal of marriage in her day. But she chose Frank Geary, with his steady, loving nature and his commitment to God, and she hasn't looked back since.
They have enjoyed years of serving God and other people. From the time they met and married (Frank was stationed at Fort Benning, GA, and had been invited over to Ruth's sister's house for Sunday lunch after church--Ruth was there visiting her sister), they have been contributing to the life and health of the local church.
Frank's military service took them to North Carolina where they helped establish a church. They moved back to California after Frank's military service was complete, where Frank finished his education to become a teacher. While Ruth had received excellent education all along the way, Frank's education in the San Joaquin Valley had been inadequate. He wanted to work within the system to make it better!
Ruth and Frank worked tirelessly for the first 20 years of their marriage, raising Denise and Philip, Ruth volunteering at school and at church (she typed all of John Banks' sermons at College Church of Christ) and Frank served as Boy Scout Master in Parlier, taking Phil along on the long Scouting hikes. Ruth and Frank were present when College Church of Christ opened its doors in 1964.
Once Ruth's children were raised, she returned to the workforce. At first, as a typist for a Fresno State College professor, but later, she became his illustrator, when he discovered her artistic talents. Three veterinary science textbooks, still in use today at California State University, Fresno, are illustrated by Ruth Geary.
Ruth's organizational abilities soon got her "discovered" in the local business world, where she founded a branch for an insurance agency and hired many of the young women of College Church of Christ at the time, including Cindy McGrady, Olivia Gale and Jennifer Martin. Ruth illustrated training manuals for the insurance agency, as well.
Retirement brought 20 more years of happy service for Frank and Ruth, as they bought an RV and traveled all over the place with their grandsons' soccer matches. Members of the soccer team would come to the Geary's RV to play cards and rest awhile between matches.
Aging also brought a number of health problems for Frank and Ruth. Frank has had 24 surgeries, including open heart surgery, prostate cancer surgery, kidney stone retrievals, kidney surgery, three hip replacements, two broken legs. skin grafts...But he has kept going. Only in the last five years has it slowed him down. This past February (2014), "we thought Frank was dying," Ruth said. "The doctor told us, 'Just try to make him comfortable.'"
"Then a young gastroenterologist suggested we test him for Celiac's disease. We did and he has made a 180-degree turnaround in his health," Ruth related.
Ruth, herself, went for her routine check-up in March (2014) and the lab results showed a mass in her right breast. A biopsy revealed breast cancer and Ruth had a partial mastectomy on May 15, 2014. Because her arm was elevated for so long during the surgery, she developed tendinitis, which may need surgical help, also. She has had to deal with radiation burns on her chest, but she said, "God needed me to slow down."
As Ruth sits, like a queen, at the top of 80 years of life and 60 years of marriage. She calls herself "the most blessed person in the world". She and Frank have two children, six grandsons, and five great-grandchildren. All of them are Christians. Those who are married are married to Christians.
"I have a family filled with Christians who will be living forever. That is the best legacy to have," she said.
When Ruth and Frank face difficulties, Ruth is comforted by the worship song, taken from Psalm 42:7, titled "Deep Calls to Deep".
"It reminds me that when I am in the depths of my troubles, God calls to me from the depths of His heart!" Ruth said.
--Posted by Mama O
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