For long-time Alabaster resident Ruby “Jerry” Geraldine Nolen, living to be 100 years old was a goal she hoped to accomplish. Nolen met that goal in 2020, before passing away on March 1, 2021.
“My grandmother was the kindest, most loving, compassionate woman to everyone,” Jennifer McDaniel said. “She never met a stranger and loved everyone unconditionally. She met her late-in-life best friend at the hair salon where she got her hair done every Friday. Her grandchildren loved the few times they were able to dunk her in the pool when a visit to the beauty shop was the next day.”
Nolen was born on Aug. 25, 1920 to William Curtis Kelley and Annie Fallon Kelley in Birmingham, before the family moved to Alabaster when Nolen was a young child.
“She remembers sitting at the feet of Vulcan when he was at the old fairgrounds in Ensley before she moved to Alabaster,” McDaniel said. “One of her favorite memories was being able to walk around Main Street before it was paved.”
Nolen later met her husband, William Nolen, at a cafe on Main Street in Alabaster where he was employed as a cook.
Ruby Nolen didn’t have a nickel to buy a hamburger so William paid for it and told her he would get the nickel back eventually.
“They were married for 59 years, and they owned a dairy farm on Smokey Road and raised four children,” McDaniel said.
While raising her children, Nolen was a 4-H judge and a member of the Home Demonstration Club, which was a ladies’ get-together where they cooked, ate and socialized.
“She sewed most of her children’s clothes and taught them how to braid a cow’s tail,” McDaniel said. “Many people in Alabaster probably remember her from her time spent on her front porch rocker overlooking the farm. We all loved front porch time. We also loved shelling peas and shucking corn with her.”
Some things Nolen taught her grandchildren included how to skip and how to light matches on the large size matchboxes.
“Nothing was a ‘job’ to her,” McDaniel said. “She made everything fun, and everything was done with love. She loved her family unconditionally.”
Nolen loved to dance, and at age 78, danced “the night away” at a wedding where she later had bruised toes for weeks.
She also loved to cook, but did not cook anything low-calorie, McDaniel said.
Nolen is survived by her daughters, Sue N. Dyess and Jeannie N. Sanders (Clayton); 13 grandchildren; 20 great-grandchildren; five great-great-grandchildren; loving niece, Jayne Kelley Evans and best friend, Jerri Henson.
Nolen was preceded in death by her husband, William Arthur Nolen; son, Jackie R. Nolen; beloved daughter-in-law, Linda Nolen; son-in-law, Joe Dyess; daughter Paula N. Vandiver; and great-granddaughter, Andrea Hand White.
When Nolen was younger, she walked from Main Street in Alabaster on Highway 31 to school on what is now Highway 119.
“Her grandmother lived in the house that is now Frou Frou Boutique,” McDaniel said. “During the Depression, she would walk through her grandmother’s front door and grab a biscuit and then an onion to eat on the way to school. On the way back home from school, she would grab a bag of onions to take home. Her uncle hauled onions so during the Depression they ate a lot of them. Throughout her life, she loved to eat green or white onions cut up for lunch or dinner.”
Nolen credited the secret to her long life to saying her prayers every night, and a few margaritas or a glass of wine did not hurt either, McDaniel said.
“We think it is also because she was so easy going and enjoyed life,” McDaniel said. “Especially the little things. I will definitely miss hearing her say ‘I love you too much.’”