Geneva Ryle

Funeral services for Geneva Stewart Ryle, 92, will be held at First United Methodist Church in Hughes Springs on Friday, November 15, 2013, at 1:00 p.m. Burial will follow at Hughes Springs Cemetery. Visitation will be at Reeder Davis Funeral home on Thursday evening from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. Mrs. Ryle was born on December 7, 1920, in Malvern, Arkansas, and passed away on November 12, 2013, in a local nursing home. She was preceded in death by her parents, her husband A. Hiram Ryle, son M. F. Bub Ryle, grandson Stewart Lee Clark, and son-in-law G. W. Bill Clark. She is survived by daughter, Nita Clark of Hughes Springs, grandchildren Brandi and Mark Dalhoff of Nacogdoches, Christy Martinez of Frisco, Cindy Clark of Grapevine, Kevin and Susan Clark of Pearland, Monica and Todd Silvest, Natalie and Doug Keller, Nicole Carmadelle, all of south Louisiana, Andy Ryle of Arlington, Dijon and Shirley Ryle of Poplarville, MS, 24 great-grandchildren, six great-great-grandchildren, nieces, nephews, and many friends. Special neighbors who gave her great joy are Nathan and April Jones and their sons. Geneva Stewart was the 1938 UIL Texas State Champion in Speech and Declamation for Dallas High School. After high school, she married Hiram Ryle, who brought her home to Hughes Springs in 1946, where they owned and operated Ryles Variety Store. She was employed by General Dynamics inside Lone Star Steel Company from 1949 until she retired in 1969. She was employed in retail fast food from 1978 to 1982, and was a co-owner of a plumbing business from 1982 to 1999. She was a member of First United Methodist Church in Hughes Springs and taught the Win-One Sunday School Class for over 50 years. She was active with the choir and was the director for several years. She was a member of Eastern Star for many years. Early in the history of the Hughes Springs Volunteer Fire Department, she was very active in fund-raising for equipment and supplies. Her specialty was singing in variety shows and was a crowd-pleasing favorite when she sang Frankie and Johnnie and Basin Street Blues. Geneva was always very supportive of her children and their activities, a loving and generous grandmother and enjoyed vacations traveling with her husband until his death in 1972. In recent years, her pride and joy was the pictures of her grandchildren, great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren, especially those pictures containing five generations.