Alma Ruth Brandon Courtney, age 85 years, passed from this life into the presence of her Savior on September 13, 2014. Born in Bartlesville, Oklahoma, on January 29, 1929, Ruth was the only child of Arthur Leroy and Anna Frances (Baldwin) Brandon. She grew up surrounded by many cousins and friends, actively participating in youth group outings, and singing in and playing the piano for a youth quartet. One of the members of this quartet was a "younger man" named Mike Courtney. She graduated from College High School in Bartlesville in 1947 and attended Bethany-Peniel College (now Southern Nazarene University). During her junior year at college, Mike, a freshman, asked her on a date, which was the beginning of a life-long loving relationship. Mike and Ruth were married on July 20, 1950, in Bartlesville. Ruth occasionally worked outside the home, but her greatest joys were nurturing her children and being a supportive partner in her husband's calling as a minister. In these she excelled. Ruth is survived by her husband, Mike, of the home; her children - Margaret Rose and husband, Johnny, of Plainview, Texas; Annette Ferrell and husband, James, of Oklahoma City; George "Jack" Courtney, of Oklahoma City; daughter-in-law, Carol Courtney, of Bethany, Oklahoma; her grandchildren - Bryan and Kathy Rose, Garron and Christine Rose, Travis Courtney, Brandon and Lauren Rose, Teresa Courtney, and Michael Courtney; nine great-grandchildren; many in the extended Baldwin and Courtney families; and by friends at Bethany First Church of the Nazarene and Bethany Place Apartments. She was predeceased by her parents, Arthur and Anna Brandon; one daughter, Helen Frances Courtney; one grandson, Andrew David Ferrell. The passage of Scripture found in 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 is a fitting tribute to our dear Ruth: "Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres." Funeral Service Wednesday, September 17, 2014 10:00 AM Mercer-Adams Chapel 3925 N. Asbury Bethany, OK 73008