Naomi Ruth Valenzuela departed peacefully from our lives on Saturday, July 5, 2025, surrounded by loving family.
Ruth will be remembered for her profound faith, her quiet strength, her sense of humor, her vibrant smile, and for the affection and hospitality she offered to all who knew her.
She and her sisters grew up in the Kelsey Memorial United Methodist Church in Corpus Christi, where she taught Sunday School and sang in the choir. Ruth loved music, dancing, gardening, sewing and crafting, thrift shopping, and decorating her home.
For many years, she worked for the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service's Food and Nutrition Unit, teaching essential nutrition skills to countless families throughout the greater DFW region. She loved being out in the community — and she never met a stranger. Often, she brought home those in need, always ready to help however she could.
More than anything, Ruth loved her family unconditionally, and she raised her children to do the same. Though she led a busy life, she was active and deeply present in the lives of her grandchildren.
Ruth is preceded in death by her parents, Melquiades and Catarina Valenzuela, and her five older sisters: Mercedes Zamorano, Maria Magdalena Partington, Guadalupe Hastings, Lucille Cantu, and Alice Gutgesell.
She is survived by her companion of 40 years, Salvador Tobar; her four children: Ramona LaBarre (Jack Murray), Wendell Michael Phillips (Toni), Carlos Daniel Phillips, and Rebecca Fisher (Ken); her seven grandchildren: Lisa Slusher, Alicia Gray (Troy), Veronica Loya (Phillip), Casey Finnell, Sigourney LaBarre (Kunal Gupta), Garrison LaBarre, and Maggie Brown (Alex); and four great-grandchildren: Julia Slusher, Layla Finnell, Harper Gray, and Anik Gupta. She is also lovingly remembered by numerous nieces, nephews, and in-laws.
In lieu of flowers, donations in Ruth’s name to the Alzheimer’s Association are most appreciated.
Services will be held on Saturday, August 9, 10am at Kelsey Memorial United Methodist Church in her home town of Corpus Christi, Texas.
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