Ruby Dale Ezell Tucker, 87, of Ellisville, Mississippi, stepped peacefully from life on this earth to life in Heaven on Monday, September 14, 2026.

Ruby was born November 12, 1938, in Laurel, Mississippi, to Oree and Myrtle Ezell. She was a woman of strong faith and deep convictions. Pleasant Ridge Baptist Church in Ellisville was her church home all of her adult life. She and her husband, James, raised their children there, and that church family continues to surround the Tucker family with faith and love today.

For many years Ruby worked in the Chancery Clerk's office in Laurel, a job she truly loved, until her retirement.

Holidays at Mimi's house were something the whole family looked forward to, and her kitchen was always as full as her heart. Her biscuits were famous, and Thanksgiving wasn't Thanksgiving without her dressing.

Apart from time with her family, Ruby was happiest in her yard. She loved cutting grass and could be found on her riding lawnmower until just a few years ago. Her flowerbeds were her pride, and her yard was always beautiful.

More than anything, Ruby was devoted to her family. She adored her grandchildren and great-grandchildren and never tired of saying, "I am so proud of our family!" Her prayers sustained her family all their lives. Last Thanksgiving, as she blessed the meal, she thanked God for her family and prayed that anyone among them who had not yet accepted Christ as Savior would make that decision. That prayer, and the constancy of her love and influence, will always be remembered with gratitude.

Ruby was gracious through and through. Whenever someone couldn't make it to a family gathering, she would say, "We do what we can and we don't worry about it." Her family will carry those words, and the grace behind them, always.

Ruby was preceded in death by her parents, Oree and Myrtle Ezell; her husband, James Halton Tucker; her daughter, Janet Carol Tucker; her son, James Mark Tucker; her grandson, Joshua Oden; her great-grandson, Beau Sanderson; and her siblings, John Ezell, Joan Ezell Edwards, and Jim Ezell.

She is survived by her loving family; daughters, Marsha Tucker Sanderson and Annette Tucker Oden (John); her grandchildren, Stephen Sanderson (Emily), Melody Sanderson Crocker (Tripp), Justin Oden, and Aliyah Oden Hines (Tolbert); and her great-grandchildren, Kyle Crocker, Tucker Sanderson, and Barrett Sanderson. She is also survived by Tammy Powell Griffith (Mark), Janet's best friend, whom Ruby loved as one of her own children.

Visitation will be held Friday, September 18, 2026, at 10:00 a.m. at Pleasant Ridge Baptist Church in Ellisville, with the funeral service following at 11:00 a.m. Pastor Roy Crouch will officiate. Burial will follow in the Pleasant Ridge Baptist Church Cemetery.

Serving as pallbearers will be John Oden, Tripp Crocker, Mark Griffith, Justin Oden, Tolbert Hines, and Stephen Sanderson.

Ellisville Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.