As promised yesterday , a creative, even an “artsy thing” today in celebration of this being my mom’s birthday.

Among a ton of other attributes and well-deserved accolades, Ruth Morgan Baldwin Neber Scheets (1912-2017, see attached obituary for details) was an art teacher. She always sketched, painted, and found numerous other outlets for the creativity she enjoyed and shared.

In that spirit it’s my joy to connect you with this brilliance from Daniel McCoy-

A definition of creativity came to me as I was reflecting on puns. I used to see puns as subpar humor, unless you’re aiming for a cringe (extra dad humor points). But I was reading James Geary’s Wit’s End: What Wit Is, How It Works, and Why We Need It, and he has a chapter on puns. The chapter helped me appreciate what goes into making a pun: you’re bringing together two separate ideas and holding them in balance to create humor.

I realized that every time I’ve seen something creative, it’s brought two things together to see what happens. A song brings words together to make lines and lines to make stanzas. It brings lyrics and melody together. Then it brings lyric and melody together alongside singers and instruments—all of which are then brought together with other songs in an album and with an audience in a concert. Creativity brings this and that together to see what will happen.

And it all began back when God gave us the stuff that we could arrange and rearrange: “In the beginning God created . . .” (Genesis 1:1).[1] What else does the Bible say about creativity?

— Let’s pick up right there tomorrow. You’re gonna love this, and my mom would have cheered!

Ruth B. Scheets was born on July 29, 1912, in Centralia, and died on November 4, 2017, in Effingham. She was 105 years old. Ruth was the daughter of the late Dr. George W. Baldwin and Susie (Morgan) Baldwin of Centralia.

She is survived by her brother, Dr. Richard C. Baldwin of Centralia; one son, Lawrence Joseph (Patty) Scheets, III, of Belleville; a niece, Russett Baldwin (Paul) Gibson, of Arizona formerly of Centralia; four grandsons, and numerous great and great-great grandchildren, nieces, and nephews. She is preceded in death by her parents; two husbands, Ernest Newton Neber, II and Lawrence Joseph Scheets, Jr.; a son, Ernest Newton Neber, III; and sister in-law, Jean (Curran) Baldwin.

Ruth attended the Centralia public schools and the Centralia high school. She was Queen of the May Fete in 1930. She attended a girl’s school in Lexington, Ky., the University of Illinois, McKendree College, and the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Fla. from which she received her Bachelor’s degree in Education, with a major in Art. She did graduate work at the University of Colorado and Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville. She later taught school at Pinecrest School in Ft. Lauderdale and in Centralia, Effingham, and Belleville.

Ruth is a member of the Okawville United Methodist Church and had been active in the Union United Methodist Church in Belleville. In the 1940’s, she was a receptionist at Shell Oil Company in Centralia. Later, while in Centralia, she was active in the Junior Women’s Club, sponsored a Girl Scout high school troop, owned and operated a children’s shop, was the first female member of the Chamber of Commerce, and was a member of the first Planning and Zoning Commission. She was also the secretary of the Kaskaskia Valley Association of the Illinois Education Association for seven years.

Funeral Services will be held Wednesday, November 8, 2017 at 2:00 PM at the Okawville United Methodist Church in Okawville with Rev. William Causer officiating. Visitation is an hour before the service at the church. Burial will follow at Staude Cemetery in Okawville.