Ruth Reisman Ellmore

Ruth Reisman Ellmore, 99, passed away on January 8, 2026, in Abilene, Texas. Born Ruth Evelyn Reisman to Anton and Mary Anderson Reisman in Chicago, Illinois, on Christmas Day 1926, Ruth grew up in Chicago near Wrigley Field, and graduated from Taft High School in 1944.
She met her future husband, R. Terry Ellmore, while attending Lake Forest College in Lake Forest, Illinois, on an academic scholarship. They married on October 7, 1949, and raised three children. Through seven decades of marriage, Ruth and Terry lived a life of faith and adventure. By 1973, they had moved at least 20 times: within Illinois, Michigan, Mississippi, Okinawa, Washington, Iowa, Nevada, and California. They finally settled in Fort Worth, Texas, in 1973, where Terry taught in the Radio/TV/Film Department at TCU and Ruth was involved in the TCU Women's Association, numerous civic organizations, and church activities. She was a beloved Sunday school teacher to five-year-olds for 25 years at Southside Church of Christ.
When Terry retired from TCU in 1991, they took to the road in their motorhome and traveled extensively throughout the U.S.
Ruth and Terry designed and built a straw-bale casita in San Felipe, Baja California, and spent 23 years enhancing it, hosting family, friends, and neighbors at their weekly campfires. In 2019, they moved to Abilene to be near family.
Ruth was much-loved, artistic, creative, beautiful, sunny-natured, kind, friendly, a Jesus-follower, and so stylish. People often stopped her on the street to admire something she was wearing. "I made it!" she would say, to their astonishment. Her parents immigrated to Chicago from Estonia, and she was very proud of her Estonian heritage. Ruth and Terry loved ocean cruises, and even took a 30-day cruise to the South Pacific in their 94th year. Ruth was a prolific artist, seamstress, knitter, and decorator, finding creative ways to repurpose everyday objects. She also impressed everyone by swimming a mile daily until she turned 95.
Ruth was proceeded in death by her husband, R. Terry Ellmore, in 2020, and is survived by her children, Susan Ellmore Burke, Stacey Ellmore, and William A. Ellmore II (Melba), three grandchildren, seven great-grandchildren, and many extended family members.
The family would like to express their gratitude to Ruth's hospice and caregiver teams for their compassion and support during her final months.
Though Ruth's memory faltered in her later years, she always remembered the words of her favorite hymn, "Great is Thy Faithfulness." All of those who dearly loved her look forward to rejoicing in a heavenly reunion one day.