Ruth Chisley Hunter

Ruth was born December 13, 1942, in Alto, Louisiana, to the late John Louis Chisley, Jr., and the late Alice Patterson Chisley. She was the ninth of fourteen children, of which seven preceded her in death.

Ruth accepted Jesus as her personal Lord and Savior in 1952 when she joined Poplar Chapel AME Church in Rayville, Louisiana.

Ruth was a 1962 graduate of Alto High School. She attended Campbell College in Jackson, Mississippi, and later transferred to, and graduated from, Robinson Business College. Upon graduating, she moved to Oakland, California, where she met and married the late Joe Hunter. To this union, two children were born, Kermich and Mella Kenise Hunter.

Using her secretarial skills, Ruth accepted a position with the United Postal Service as a clerk in the certified registry & customs department, where she remained until retirement in 1998.

Ruth was a faithful and an active member of Shiloh Baptist Church in Hayward, California, until her health failed, resulting in a move back home to live with her sisters, Thelma and Ollie.

Ruth was a loving wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, and sister. She died peacefully at her sister Thelma’s home on Saturday, April 15, 2023. Those who preceded Ruth in death are her children, Kermich Lydell Hunter, Sr., and Mella Hunter Higgins; parents, John and Alice Chisley, Jr.; brothers, Aaron, Willie, John, Hesley, and Moses; and sisters, Naomi Hughes and Esther Williams.

Left to cherish her memory are her grandchildren, Kermich (Kadia) Hunter, Jr., of Sacramento, California, Brandon Hunter of Stockton, California, LaVolia Rogers, and Lakisha, Kermisha, and Jonathan Hunter, all of Oakland, California; six greatgrandchildren; brothers, Roosevelt Chisley, William (Pearl) Chisley of Monroe, Louisiana, Robert (Betsy) Chisley of Glendale, Arizona, and Nathaniel (Belinda) Chisley of Mesquite, Texas; sisters, Ollie (Michael) Bickems of Balch Springs, Texas and Thelma Williams of Monroe, Louisiana; sister/niece, Barbara (Eddie) Porter of Desoto, Texas; and a host of nieces, nephews, cousins, and friends. 

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