Ruth Milam, 85, of Huntsville, left this world peacefully on March 14, 2013, after a dignified, courageous, and graceful battle with Parkinson's Disease. Mrs. Milam was born in Madison County, Alabama to Oronoco James Atlas Lethu Henson and Nona Adeline Dabbs Henson. She was a 1945 graduate of Hazel Green High School and a graduate of North Alabama Business College. Mrs. Milam took immense satisfaction in employing her remarkable business acumen and intelligence in meeting the greater needs of all. She was profoundly pleased to have been employed by the practice of Dr. Carl Grote, Sr., in Huntsvillein the 1940's, and during this era, she modeled for Dunnavant's. Subsequently, her marriage to Vernon Edward Milam of Hazel Green took her to West Virginia, Georgia, and North Carolina with his career with the Allied Chemical Company, now Honeywell. After the untimely loss of her husband in 1966, Mrs. Milam returned to Alabama in 1970, where she pursued a career with her much beloved GTE family. Back in Alabama, always resourceful, independent, and innovative, she reinvented herself, providing generous care for her mother, her children, and her granddaughter, and great -grandchildren. During these years, she assumed leadership of the family farm, and remodeled the old family home in Madison County. Mrs. Milam was a devout Christian who loved the Book of Proverbs; she enjoyed crocheting, bridge, gardening, Scrabble, the music of Tom Jones, and particularly, golf. As a member of the Jekyll Island and Riegelwood Country Clubs, she was the First Flight Winner of the 1965 Women's Tournament in North Carolina, and she later enjoyed league play with GTE. She was preceded by her husband, Vernon Edward Milam, and her son, Michael DeWayne Milam. She is survived by her sisters, Agnes Opaline Allen of Ardmore and Greta Joan Smith of Monrovia; her daughter, Patricia Milam Pope, and her son, John David Edward Milam, both of Toney; a granddaughter, Laura Elizabeth Lowther Potter and her husband, Marcus Potter, of Toney; and three great children, Hannah Elizabeth Potter, Emma Grace Potter, and Carson Evan Potter, all of whom she loved so very dearly. She is also survived by her Jack Russell Terrier, Bingo-Bengtsson, who "is smarter than you think."

Visitation at 2:00 pm followed by a memorial service at 3:00 pm will be held on Sunday, March 17, 2013, at Toney United Methodist Church. Berryhill Funeral Home is assisting the family. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the Madison Cross Roads Cafeteria Fund; 11548 Pulaski Pike; Toney, AL 35773 or to the Downtown Rescue Mission; 1400 Evangel Drive; Huntsville, AL 35816. Remember those who are less fortunate than ourselves, for we are blessed beyond our own imaginations.