Mary Ruth Montgomery Pledger

Mary Ruth Filgo Montgomery Pledger of Lancaster died Monday, March 12, eighteen days after the passing of her beloved husband of 55 years, Bill Pledger. Mary Ruth was born July 16, 1922 in Lancaster to Ruby Jo and Joseph Taylor Filgo. She and her brothers were raised on a farm west of town, where in the summers the family operated Cedar Brook Ranch, a well-known summer camp for children. After graduating from Lancaster High School at the age of 16, she attended Texas Wesleyan College, where she was named “Smile Queen,” and she then went on to receive her bachelor’s degree from SMU. It was in 1945, while doing war work at Love Field, that Mary Ruth met a young, charismatic Mississippian, Bill Montgomery, a Navy pilot stationed in Dallas. Bill fell in love with the beautiful, sweet-natured Texas country girl, and after a whirlwind courtship they were married later that year, at the First Methodist Church in Lancaster. Bill and Mary Ruth had two children, Glenn and Gail, and the couple was expecting their third child, Julia Lee, when Bill died in April 1953 in the crash of a twin-engined aircraft he was co-piloting. With her two children, Mary Ruth traveled from Arlington, Va., where she and Bill had been living while he was stationed at the Pentagon, back to Lancaster, moving in with her mother and her youngest brother Roy Lee. It was in 1956 that the young widow got a call from Lieutenant Commander Bill Pledger, whose Navy flight instructor had been Bill Montgomery. A mutual Navy friend had told Bill Pledger, who at the time was stationed in Dallas, that Mary Ruth was living in the Dallas area. A romance developed, and the two were married Jan. 13, 1957, one of the last weddings in the original sanctuary of Lancaster’s First Methodist Church. In 1959, Bill received orders to report to North Island Naval Air Station in Coronado, Calif. for a three-year tour of duty. Following that, the family moved back to Lancaster, where Bill and Mary Ruth were to live the rest of their lives. Family, friends and church were priorities in Mary Ruth’s life. She was a devoted and caring mother to her three children, a loving wife, and an active participant and organizer in all of the get-togethers of the large Filgo family in the Lancaster area. All her life, Mary Ruth was a member of First United Methodist Church in Lancaster. She was a long-time church secretary and was flower chairman upwards of 30 years. She was active in the PTA, serving a term as president. Flower-arranging provided a creative outlet for Mary Ruth, who was a member of several area garden clubs and served as president of one. Her creativity took other forms as well, and she enjoyed crafting hand-made items that she sold at her M Ruth shop on the Lancaster Square in the early 1970s. When her husband opened Bill’s Hallmark in the shopping center at the corner of Pleasant Run and Westridge streets in Lancaster in the early ’80s, Mary Ruth eventually moved her gift shop there and kept it active until Hallmark closed in 1999. As she approached her 80th year, Mary Ruth’s health started to decline, a downward spiral that was to continue for the last 10 years of her life. She faced the ever-increasing hardships of old age with a sense of humor and a smile, with courage, dignity and grace, and with a beauty and blue-eyed charm that never faded. Even though he himself was growing increasingly frail, Bill was a loving caregiver to his wife, making it possible for her to remain at home until the last seven months of her life. Mary Ruth was preceded in death by her husbands, William G. Montgomery, Jr. and William Gilbert Pledger; her parents, Joseph Taylor and Ruby Filgo; brothers Ray and Roy Lee Filgo; and nephew Robert Filgo. Mary Ruth’s passing is mourned by many family members, including: Her devoted children and grandchildren: William Glenn Montgomery III (Cary); Gail Montgomery Corley; Julia Montgomery Taylor (Don); Sarah Kristin Gossett; Mary Rebekah Gossett; Kaitlin Taylor Jesiolowski (A.J.); and Julia Katherine Corley. Bill’s beloved sons and grandchildren: William G. Pledger, Jr. (Barbara); Robert P. Pledger (Virginia); Reed G. Pledger; Jeffrey Pledger; Stephen Pledger (Valerie); and Kelli Pledger. Brother: William Filgo Sisters-in-law: Peggy Filgo; Lana Filgo Cousins: Harold Filgo; Dorothy Filgo; Holland Filgo, Jr; James Magill (Patty); and Helen Mickelsen; Nephews: John Taylor Filgo (Sharon); Clayton Pledger (Sherri); and Captain James E. Pledger, USN (Ret) (Donna). Nieces: Susan Filgo; Becky Colwill (Brian); Beth Bailey (Mel); and Barbara Rushing (Joe). And by a host of great nieces, nephews, cousins and friends. A memorial service for Mary Ruth will be held Saturday, March 24 at 2:30 PM at the First United Methodist Church, 201 South Dallas Ave., Lancaster, 75146.

Mary Ruth Montgomery Pledger

July 16, 1922 - March 12, 2012