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Ruth F. Hayes McRae, 86, of Rosebud Creek, Mont., passed away peacefully in Billings on June 18, 2024.
Ruth was born in Petersburg, Pa., on April 2, 1938, to Florence and Conley Hayes.
Ruth graduated from Bald Eagle Nittany High School in Mill Hall, Pa., in 1956. She then attended nursing school at Geisinger Memorial Hospital in Danville, Pa., obtaining her Registered Nursing Degree.
She married Wallace D. McRae in Mill Hall, Pa., on Dec. 4, 1960. They came home to ranch on the Rosebud where they resided at Greenleaf Land and Livestock, and then to Rocker Six Cattle Co., until 2021 when they retired and moved to St. Johns Retirement Home in Laurel then Billings.
Ruth was a very soft spoken, loving and kind person. She was well known for her cooking for branding and shipping crews. She had a reputation for her strawberry rhubarb pies, apple crisp and cherry cobbler. Her home cooked meals for Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas were always highly anticipated. She enjoyed making chokecherry, buffalo berry and wild plum jelly, as well as home-made applesauce.
She was a longtime member of the Colstrip Community Church where she played the piano for 40 years. She served for several years on the board of Rosebud County Library in Colstrip. Her passion was gardening, growing flowers and raising rhubarb. She also enjoyed watching and identifying the variety of birds that came to her bird feeders throughout the seasons.
Ruth is survived by her husband, Wallace McRae, of Billings; children, Clint McRae (Tammy), of Rosebud Creek, Allison (Eric) Williams, of Tacoma, Wash., and Natalie Patterson (Jack), of Franklin, Tenn. She is also survived by seven grandchildren; one great-grandchild; and her sister, Ann Hayes Sherwood (Bill), of Hughesville, Pa.
Services were held in the Colstrip Community Church at 11 a.m., Wednesday, June 26, 2024. A luncheon followed at the church with interment in the Lee Cemetery on Rosebud Creek.
Stevenson and Sons Funeral Home has been entrusted with arrangements.
To leave condolences for the family, visit their website at www.stevensonandsons.com