Married in 1945 to Merit John Christopher she was widowed in 1954 and in 1958 married Frank Ludwig Stedry.

Ruby Stedry died Sunday, March 23, 2008, in Phoenix, Ariz.

Rosebud Sioux Tribal member Ruby Mae (Charbonneau) Christopher Stedry was born July 26, 1914, at Valentine.

Her parents, Alexis Merril and Jennie (Howard) Charbonneau, owned a ranch on the Rosebud Sioux Reservation in Littleberg, S.D. Ruby's father, Alexis Charbonneau, is a descendant of the trapper Toussaint Charbonneau, whose wife, Sacagawea, accompanied him on the Lewis and Clark trail.

Ruby's mother, Jennie Howard Charbonneau, was born on her Didier grandfather's ranch in Shubert, NE. Ruby is the youngest and the last survivor of 10 siblings.

Ruby's lifelong passion was music. She sang for funerals, weddings, sang in quartets and in the church choir and was a member of the Valentine glee club. In the sixth grade, Ruby won two Cherry County singing contests.

In the sixth grade, Ruby met Merit J. Christopher, a young man whose family ranched in Cherry County. On Oct. 4, 1945, Ruby married Merit, her childhood sweetheart, in Valentine.

Merit had served in World War II and continued in the Air Force following the war. Ruby followed Merit on a number of assignments, including Grand Island, Denver, Colo., Cheyenne, Wyo., and Japan. Merit J. Christopher passed away in 1954.

Following Merit's death, Ruby returned to Valentine, working as a hairdresser and managing a beauty shop.

On June 28, 1958, Ruby married Frank L. Stedry, sales manager for Bridges Feed Company, Norfolk. Ruby moved to Norfolk with Frank and enjoyed a comfortable home and friends in the area. Following Frank's death in 1970, Ruby remained in Norfolk, sharing her apartment with her sister, Zina Meisner, until Zina's death in 1988.

Ruby moved to The Meadows in Norfolk in 1998, and in 2000 Ruby moved to White River Health Care Center in White River, S.D. In 2001, Ruby moved with her nephew, Jack Davey, to Phoenix, Ariz.

Ruby is survived by several nieces and nephews, Jack Davey and wife Susan of Phoenix, Jim Meisner and wife Kim of The Dalles, Ore., Paul Parker and wife Lorraine of Gordon, Edna (Barnett) Locke and husband Bruce of Pahrump, Nev., Wayne A. Barnett and wife Claire of Blue River, Wis., Vicki Charbonneau of Newport, Ore., and many great-nieces, nephews and dear friends.

Ruby was preceded in death by her parents, all of her siblings, both of her husbands, her niece, Pauline M. Barnett and her nephews, William H. Barnett and Dorwin Charbonneau.