Ruth Johnston Lott  1921-2021

Ruth Johnston Lott peacefully joined her Savior in heaven on Aug. 31, 2021. She was born on Oct. 19, 1921 on the family ranch on Hackberry Creek in Northwest Dallas County. At a young age, Ruth and her family moved to the XQZ Ranch southwest of San Angelo. Many of her fondest memories took place at the XQZ – from enjoying pet squirrels, cats, a goose with a peg leg fashioned by her father to taking care of the dogied lambs and ranching with her daddy. After graduating from San Angelo High School in 1939, she attended Southern Methodist University, where she met David Hix Lott. They married in 1943, and soon after he shipped out to the Pacific with the United States Navy during World War II. While David was overseas, Ruth and her family raised sheep and cattle on their ranches in Texas and then Colorado, providing wool and beef for the armed services. She volunteered as a nurse’s aide in the local hospitals and founded the Young Women’s Service League with eleven of her friends, which became the Junior League of San Angelo. In 1954 they moved to Mineola, where Ruth was an active member of numerous civic organizations, devoting much of her time to the boards for the First United Methodist Church, Mineola Memorial Library and Mineola Civic Center. In 1957, she was the first woman to receive the “Woman of the Year Award” from the Mineola Lions Club. Ruth was a member of the Twentieth Century Club, The Daughters of the American Revolution, the Northeast Texas Arthritis Foundation and served two terms as president of the Chapter CU of the P.E.O. Sisterhood. In 2007 she was awarded the Distinguished Lifetime Achievement Award from the Mineola Chamber of Commerce and in 2009 she was given the Citizen of the Year Award by the Northeast Texas Library System. When Ruth wasn’t volunteering or traveling around the world, you could find her at SMU football games with her husband and family. In her retirement, she became an avid Mah Jongg player, opening her late husband’s office as the “Mah Jongg parlor” for her friends. Ruth’s greatest joy was her family, especially time spent with them in Colorado or sharing stories of her ranching childhood. Ruth was preceded in death by her parents, Bob and Katherine Johnston; brother, Bob Johnston, Jr.; sister, Marilyn Johnston Mertz; and husband, David Hix Lott. She is survived by her son, David Hix Lott, Jr. (Lynne); grandson, David Hix Lott III (Kylee); granddaughter, Kathryn Lott Carrere (Richard); great-grandson, Clayton Richard Carrere; as well as brother-in-law, Joe Mertz; and nieces, Katie Johnson, Margaret Lott and Joan Mertz and their families. Ruth’s family would like to thank Juana Barriga for her caring love and support. A private celebration of life took place Sept. 12.