Jonesboro- Minnie Ruth Wiles Osment passed away early Friday morning, June 12th.

She was born in a log cabin to Warner and Stella Lamberson Wiles, south of Jonesboro, almost a hundred years ago on December 5th, 1923. She was a direct descendant of the original settlers of the McDaniel Settlement, which later became known as Valley View. Her great grandfather and grandfather, George and Abraham Lamberson, were given some green beans by a Native American family. These beans became known as "Lamberson Beans."

Minnie Ruth was born into a large, loving family of nine brothers and sisters. She was the youngest daughter and the youngest to survive to adulthood. She and her family struggled through the Great Depression and WWII. A true child of the Depression, she grew up poor, but she and her family survived on love, sweat and tears. She lost five brothers to tragic circumstances"two during WWII. She married Eugene "Hot" Osment in 1955 and they remained married until his death in 2005. Hot and Minnie Ruth's brother, Roy, were best friends and served in the Aleutian Islands together where Roy was killed in the Battle of Dutch Harbor in 1942. She loved her mother and father and all her siblings, William, Bobby, Roy, Richard, Ray, Chuck, Bernice and Georgia, and their extended families with a pure, unwavering love. She never forgot her brothers and sisters who left this world before her, and spoke of them often. She loved to read, write, and recite poetry and wrote extensively about her family and her childhood.

Minnie Ruth dearly loved and was devoted to her local church. She joined the First Christian Church of Jonesboro in 1935, when she was twelve years old. She served her Lord and her church faithfully and never missed a Sunday until her body would no longer allow her to go. Minnie Ruth's love of her church was rewarded when she received a scholarship in 1941 that allowed her to attend Phillips University in Enid, OK for a year. She returned to college later in life after raising her two boys and received a Master's in Education from Arkansas State University. She taught first grade at Nettleton for ten years following completion of her Master's Degree.

Minnie Ruth is survived by sons, Gene (Cindy) Osment of Little Rock and Jim (Fran) Osment, of Jonesboro; five grandchildren, Merritt Osment, Will Osment, and Joseph Osment, all of Little Rock, Sarah (Hawkins) Loeffler of New Braunfels, TX, and Katie (Justin) Hodges of Jonesboro.

A graveside service will be 11:00 am Tuesday, June 16, 2020 at Oaklawn Cemetery with Rev. Don Martin officiating under the direction of Gregg-Langford Bookout Funeral Home.

The family requests memorials be sent to First Christian Church, 2600 Woodsprings Rd., Jonesboro, AR 72404 or to The Flo and Phil Jones Hospice House, 1148 E. Matthews, Jonesboro, AR 72401.