Ruby Faye Joyce Cooke Hill Balan

Mrs. Ruby Faye Joyce Cooke Hill Balan, age 87, of Pilot Mountain, passed away peacefully at the Joan and Howard Woltz Hospice Home in Dobson on Friday April 21, 2023, surrounded by her loving family.  She was born March 24, 1936, in Surry County to the late Ralph Joyce and Martha Lucille Shelton Joyce Gillespie.  She was a loving mother, grandmother, and friend who will be dearly missed.  Left to cherish her memory are two daughters, Joyce and Brad Jessup, and Pam Chaney and fiancé Steve Pike; two sons, Jerry and Janet Cooke, and Jimmy and Suzanne Cooke; 11 grandchildren; 20 great-grandchildren plus one on the way; fur baby, Precious; special friend Debra Shaw-Camillo; and many other family and friends.  In addition to her parents, Mrs. Balan was preceded in death by a son, Gary Cooke; her first husband and father of her children, Max Gray Cooke, second husband, Morris Lee Hill, and her third husband, Jacob Alec “Jack” Balan; and her stepfather, Gilmer Gillespie.  A private graveside celebration of Ruby’s life will be held for the family at Skyline Memory Gardens.  No formal visitation will be held.  In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Joan and Howard Woltz Hospice Home, 945 Zephyr Rd. Dobson, NC 27030.  Moody Funeral Services in Mount Airy is serving the Cooke family.