Ruth Ann (Coslin) Heide

Ruth Ann (Coslin) Heide, who was originally from Fair Oaks and recently had lived in Story, Arkansas, passed away at Christus St. Michael Hospital in Texarkana, on Thursday, July 13, 2023, at age 77.

Visitation will be held in the Groesbeck Funeral Home Chapel on Monday, July 17, 2023, from 6:00 – 8:00 p.m.

Funeral services will be held at 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday, July 18, 2023, in the Groesbeck Funeral Home Chapel, with Pastor Lyn Kemp officiating.   Burial will follow in Lost Prairie Cemetery, with U.S. military honors.

Pallbearers will be Darrell Coslin, Darren Coslin, Bobby Coslin, Bobby Coslin, III, Beau Rutkoski, and John Smith.

Ruth Ann was born July 11, 1946, to Theodore Samuel “Slim” Coslin and  Mattie Lee (Tisdale) Coslin in Goose Creek, TX.  She grew up in the Fair Oaks community, where she attended school until the Fair Oaks school shut down.   She transferred to Mexia in her sophomore year and took her well-known reputation as a star player in basketball and volleyball with her.   She graduated from Mexia High School in 1964.

Ruth Ann entered the U.S. Army and served as a nurse for her twenty-plus year career and retired as an E-8 Master Sergeant.   She was the charge nurse in Germany during the Vietnam war and later was stationed at several bases until her station at Fort Hood where she retired in 1985.

As a very young lady, Ruth Ann adopted five children; the first three, Tricia, Ricky and Ronnie went with her to Germany, and when she returned from Germany, she added Debra Sue and Judy “Dolly” to her family.  She lived in Copperas Cove while working on the military base, and pursued college classes while in the Army.

Throughout her life, Ruth Ann not only showed her love and concern for her children and her large family, but she would also take other people into her home to take care of them until they could get back on their feet.    She was a single woman who was blessed with a good career and superior work ethic, and had a heart full of love and concern for others.    She was the perfect fit for her nursing career and would have probably continued in that until problems with her vision.

After the military, she taught science in Salado and in Waco and math in Copperas Cove, and received an award from NASA while teaching.  She could be tough if needed, and would tell the kids with military families who needed her to be tough to ask their Dad “what an Army WAC could do to them.”

She was an open person and anyone who met her “knew her.”   Her nephews especially benefited from her aiding them in whatever their parents would not.  She was the first to step up at family reunions or any family gathering.   Without hesitation, she was the first to go to the aid of her sister when she was ill.   She moved to Mexia to take care of her mother in the home her brothers and nephews had prepared for her.   After she retired from teaching, she volunteered at the Mexia State School and then became a Case Worker.

After her mother passed away, Ruth Ann moved to Story, Arkansas to be near the town where her brother lived.  She remained close to all her family and friends and was taking care of an ill daughter-in-law.   Her grandson, Atticus Foley, was taking care of her during the recent past. She was a Christian who attended many different churches during her life.

Ruth Ann knew no fear, of anyone or anything.  She loved to travel, leaving for a new destination on the spur of the moment if she chose.   Nephews called Aunt Ruth Ann their crazy and fun aunt.   On her trip back to Arkansas this week, on her birthday on Tuesday, she suffered a massive heart attack while she had stopped to walk her dog in Texarkana, making that her final trip.   While in ICU, neither the nurses or rules could keep those who loved her out of her room, with over 50 people visiting and up to 15 in the room at a time.   She lived life to the fullest as long as she could and had a “beautiful life.”

Ruth Ann was preceded in death by her parents; baby brother, Donald Coslin; brothers Theo Coslin (at age 7), Harvey Coslin, Bobby Joe Coslin; sister, Doris Anitta Smith; sons, Ricky Foley and Ronnie Foley, and daughter, Debra Sue Fitzpatrick.

She is survived by a brother, Doyle Lee Coslin; daughter, Judy “Dolly” Bowles; daughter, Tricia Tipton; grandchildren, Atticus Foley, Mina Perez, Teresa Maria Foley, Gina Foley, Ronnie Foley, Jr., David Kennemore, and Laura Ramos; also great grandchildren; numerous nieces and nephews; and many friends who also loved her.