Ruby Mae Bovik

Ruby Mae Bovik Ruby passed into the warm embrace of her Savior Jesus Christ on October 1, 2009 in Austin, Texas. She was born in St. Louis, Missouri on July 17, 1928. Her parents, who preceded her to heaven, were Reverend Arthur J. Schneider and Dora E. Schneider. Left behind to cherish her memory are her sons Erick Arthur Bovik and his wife Dawn Meredith, and Alan Conrad Bovik and his wife Golda Sahayam, her three grand-daughters Dhivya Teresa Bovik, Mercy Dahn Bovik, and Christa Dyonne Beebe and her husband Christopher, and two great-granddaughters Sarah Elizabeth Beebe and Angela Nicole Beebe, Ruby is also survived by her identical twin sister, Ruth Sieving, her niece, Katie Sieving, and her nephews Paul and David Sieving. Ruby earned a bachelor's degree in Journalism from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign in 1951, and subsequently served as a Lieutenant Junior-Grade in the U.S. Navy during the Korean War. At the university she met her future husband of 54 years, Robert E. Bovik, who passed away in 2006. While raising her sons, Ruby worked as a journalist, an editor, and as an instructor of clinical psychology at the National College of Education in Evanston, Illinois. She also worked towards master's and doctorate degrees in psychology at DePaul University in Chicago and at the University of Chicago. Later in life she was a real estate agent. In the 1990's she worked for the JB Goodwin Real Estate Company in Austin. Ruby showed courage in the face of adversity. She survived metastatic breast cancer three times since 1980, and battled Alzheimer's disease for the past nine years. Throughout, she always maintained a gentle, cheerful outlook on life. She succumbed to heart failure, not Alzheimer's, and was cancer-free. She was able to play her piano and express her profound love for her sons and grand-daughters until the end of her life. She will be deeply missed by all. Ruby's family conveys their gratitude to the staff at the Barton Hills Assisted Living Center where Ruby resided for their kindness and attentive care, to the heroic efforts of the ICU staff at St. David's South Austin Hospital, and to Pastor Paul Kuehn of Risen Savior Lutheran church for his weekly Bible devotions with Ruby. Visitation for family and friends will be held from 3:00 p.m. until 5:00 p.m. on Saturday, October 3 at the Harrell Funeral Home located at 4435 Frontier Trail in Austin, near the intersection of Ben White Boulevard and South Lamar. On Sunday, October 4 at 1:00 p.m. there will also be a brief visitation at Risen Savior Lutheran Church located at 2811 Aftonshire Way in Austin, followed by the funeral at 3:00 p.m. and internment afterwards at Live Oak Cemetery, in Manchaca, Texas.