Norma Jean Ruffin, age 95, a lifelong servant of the Lord, passed away quietly on July 1, 2017. She was born to John and Lizzie Shelton Wood on April 3, 1922 in Ennis, Texas. She attended Ennis School, where she had countless friends. Being raised on Brown Street with a group of friends, they were called the West side kids. They would gather on Saturday evenings around the piano. At the age of 17 she was walking on Ennis Ave. with her sister, when she met the love of her life, Parnell Ruffin. He bought her an ice cream and they married on October 18, 1939. She said she instantly fell in love. She became an important member of the Ruffin family and was constantly praying for them. Due to the wartime and hard times they lived in different areas including Alma, Valley Farm and Houston. They made their final home in Ennis on the Avenue along with their three children. She worked at Story Manufacturing for 36 years. There she made lifetime friendships with very special ladies. She was simple and caring but a strong woman of faith. She was a CHRISTIAN, a wife, a mother and a grandmother. She was known as Jean to some but Mamaw Ruffin to abounding hearts of others. Her mission in life was caring for others. If you were in need of prayers or a hug, her love and cards were there. She sent cards all over the world to soldiers, missionaries, strangers and friends. Her cards were all signed Grace Temple Baptist Church. Waiting for her in death are her husband, Parnell Ruffin; two sons and their wives, Pete and Ernestine Ruffin and Johnny Wayne and Beulah Ruffin; one son-in-law, Eddie Mullinax; her parents; two brothers and their wives; one sister and brother-in-law and many other family members.
