Ruby Jemison-Fountain

Ruby Jemison-Fountain was born on December 6, 1941, in Alabama to Hazel Williams and Dissie Redmond. She attended Baldwin County Training School. Ruby accepted Christ and was baptized at a young age; years later, she reaffirmed her faith through rebaptism. 

Ruby became a homemaker at the age of 13. She married James Elonia Jemison, and their marriage later ended in divorce. She subsequently married Lee Andrew Fountain, with whom she shared her life until his passing in 2010. 

Ruby Jemison-Fountain departed this life on Thursday, October 15, 2026. She is preceded in death by: Her parents, Hazel Williams and Dissie Redmond; her first husband, James Jemison; her second husband, Lee Fountain; three children, Andrew Lee Jemison, Willie James Jemison, and Brenda Lee Jemison; one sister, Ella Mae Redmond; one brother, Willie James “Bubba” Redmond; two grandchildren, Marlon “Stoney” Smith and Ervin Burton Jr.; and one great-grandchild, Darnell Shanks Jr. 

Ruby leaves to cherish her memory: Two daughters, Mary Jean Smith (Ivin Smith) and Joeann Peoples; three sisters, Mary Martha Sawyer, Jean Neal, and Ollie Mae Boyd; one uncle, Freddie Ervin Williams; six grandchildren, Ivin Smith, Frankie Smith, Sade Jemison, Arnold Smith (Elizabeth Smith), Marcus Holcomb Sr., and Jolette Thompson Fenn (Gerard Fenn); 17 great-grandchildren; 11 great-great-grandchildren; two special friends, Fannie Washingtons and Mary Lacey; and a host of nieces, nephews, cousins, other relatives, and family friends. 

Ruby’s life and memory will forever remain in the hearts of all who knew and loved her.