Spiritual Leader Ruby Muhammad 1907-2011
jlp
Renée C. Byer / Bee file, 2010
Mother Ruby Muhammad, interviewed last year in her south Sacramento
apartment, was a gifted storyteller and poet.
More Information
Funeral notices and guest books
Mother Ruby Muhammad
Born: Disputed
Died: March 2, 2011
Survived by: Daughters, Ahminah Muhammad and Patricia Pittman, both of
Sacramento; son, Johnny Pittman of Minneapolis; 25 grandchildren; 32
great-grandchildren; 22 great-great-grandchildren; 17 great-great-
great-grandchildren; and two great-great-great-great-grandchildren
Services: 2 p.m. today at Morgan Jones Funeral Home, 4200 Broadway,
Sacramento
In memory: In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Muhammad
University of Islam, 3922 Broadway, Sacramento, CA 95817; please write
"Mother Ruby Muhammad Scholarship Fund" in the memo line.
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Centenarian Muhammad's life spanned buggies to e-mail
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By Robert D. Dávila
bda...@sacbee.com
Published: Saturday, Mar. 5, 2011 - 12:00 am | Page 4B
Mother Ruby Muhammad was a girl when the world learned about the
sinking of the Titanic on a recent invention called radio.
As a centenarian, she kept up with news about her multigenerational
family through a more modern wireless device – a cell phone.
"I always thought living this long was a gift that God gave me," she
told The Bee in a 2010 interview.
Mother Ruby, who used the name given to her after she joined the
Nation of Islam, died Wednesday of lung cancer, said her daughter
Ahminah Muhammad.
Her family said she was 113 years old, although she had no birth
certificate, and a family Bible that recorded her birth was given away
when she was young. In news stories, Mother Ruby said she was born
March 20, 1897.
Her age is disputed by the UCLA-based Gerontology Research Group, a
recognized authority on verifying centenarian claims. According to
GRG, researchers believe they found her identified at age 3 in the
1910 census, indicating that she was likely born in 1907.
Regardless of her age, Mother Ruby was a sharp and vivacious
centenarian who never slowed down. She enjoyed gardening and cooking
her own meals in her south Sacramento apartment. She sang gospel and
told stories about her life at public appearances. She wrote poetry
that she self-published and sold.
She ate one meal a day, avoided processed foods and did not smoke or
drink. She took herbs, multivitamins and a baby aspirin tablet daily.
She exercised her arms and legs with hand weights that she kept under
her bed.
"I turn on my jazz music and I work out, baby," she said last year.
Born on a farm in Sandersville, Ga., Ruby Macie Grayer never knew her
mother and met her father only once. Reared by an aunt, she spent her
early years picking crops and working as a domestic.
She married John Pittman, had four children and moved from Atlanta to
St. Paul, Minn. After her husband died, she moved to San Francisco in
1967 and married James Hyder, who also predeceased her. She relocated
to Sacramento to be near her daughters in 1988 and was predeceased by
a son, Robert.
She joined the Nation of Islam in 1946. She was named "Mother of the
Nation of Islam" in 1986 by minister Louis Farrakhan, who hosted a
birthday celebration for her in 2005 in Chicago.
A gifted storyteller, Mother Ruby recalled the sinking of the Titanic,
two world wars, the Great Depression, the end of apartheid and other
historic events in vivid detail. She described changes in
transportation, from mule-drawn buggies she rode as a child to jet
planes that took her to vacation spots and speaking engagements.
Besides a cell phone, she used a computer and e-mail. She counted 430
friends on Facebook, and she shared her faith with Nation of Islam
followers at her website, http://rubymuhammad.com.
"She remembered when there were no telephones or TV," friend Diana
Muhammad said. "She embraced new technology."
© Copyright The Sacramento Bee. All rights reserved
Read more: http://www.sacbee.com/2011/03/05/3451162/centenarian-muhammads-life-spanned.html#ixzz1FjPV6mB6
Hawthorne
> Renée C. Byer / Bee file, 2010
> Mother Ruby Muhammad, interviewed last year in her south Sacramento
> apartment, was a gifted storyteller and poet.
>
> More Information
> Funeral notices and guest books
> Mother Ruby Muhammad
> Born: Disputed
>
> Died: March 2, 2011
>
> Survived by: Daughters, Ahminah Muhammad and Patricia Pittman, both of
> Sacramento; son, Johnny Pittman of Minneapolis; 25 grandchildren; 32
> great-grandchildren; 22 great-great-grandchildren; 17 great-great-
> great-grandchildren; and two great-great-great-great-grandchildren
>
> Services: 2 p.m. today at Morgan Jones Funeral Home, 4200 Broadway,
>
So her grandchildren's grandchildren had grandchildren. Seven
generations; Amazing.
Lenona
>
> So her grandchildren's grandchildren had grandchildren. Seven
> generations; Amazing.
But not exactly a good thing.
Even if she really were 113, and even if those last two children were
born this year, that would mean that, on average, she and each
descendant was 18 upon becoming a parent. So, it's likely that about
half of them were even younger than that.
Makes me wonder just how well they functioned as families.
Lenona.
Lenona
first-time great-great-grandparent. However, it's probably safe to
say that on average, since the beginning of WWII, people have
preferred to start having children later than age 22, so that would
explain why we seldom hear of such people.
Lenona.
Lenona
Whoops, I should have said "since the beginning of the Depression."
Kathi
wrote:
>Mother Ruby Muhammad
>Died: March 2, 2011
I *finally* get to make room for a new name in 2012.
Louis Epstein
: Incidentally, in theory, one does not need to be older than 90 to be a
The youngest-ever great-great-GREAT-grandmother was 88.
The oldest-ever American,Sarah Knauss,didn't get to be a great-great-great
until about age 115.
-=-=-
The World Trade Center towers MUST rise again,
at least as tall as before...or terror has triumphed.
Louis Epstein
:
:> Mother Ruby Muhammad was a girl when the world learned about the
:> sinking of the Titanic on a recent invention called radio.
:
: Please. They learned of the sinking from reading about it in the
: newspapers, who used radiotelegraphy. Home receivers were still a
: decade into the future.
The first Federal Radio Act was in 1912,I believe.
:> "She remembered when there were no telephones or TV," friend Diana
:> Muhammad said. "She embraced new technology."
:
:
: Even if the 1897 DoB is correct, the telephone claim is untrue. You
: call this journalism?
I suppose she could say she remembered when SHE didn't have a telephone,
but the same could be said about anyone who has one installed after
moving...
BobF
On Sat, 5 Mar 2011 08:33:55 -0800 (PST), silas <silasc...@aol.com>
shouted from the highest rooftop:
>
>> Mother Ruby Muhammad was a girl when the world learned about the
>> sinking of the Titanic on a recent invention called radio.
>
>
>Please. They learned of the sinking from reading about it in the
>newspapers, who used radiotelegraphy. Home receivers were still a
>decade into the future.
>
>
>> "She remembered when there were no telephones or TV," friend Diana
>> Muhammad said. "She embraced new technology."
>
>
>Even if the 1897 DoB is correct, the telephone claim is untrue. You
>call this journalism?
>
The article did start off by saying that Ruby was "a gifted
storyteller."
--
"It's not that I'm afraid to die. I just don't want to be there when it happens." - Woody Allen
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Wax-up and drop-in of Surfing's Golden Years: <http://www.surfwriter.net>
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BobF
On Sat, 5 Mar 2011 09:35:07 -0800 (PST), Lenona <leno...@yahoo.com>
shouted from the highest rooftop:
>Incidentally, in theory, one does not need to be older than 90 to be a
Since my wife and I are already great-grandparents - and since our
great-granddaughter will be 1 on the 17th of March - I suppose it's
just possible for Anne (71 in August) and I (70 in December) to live
long enough to become great-great-grandparents. In fact, I insist on
it ... ;-)b