Ruth Elaine Irby was born on August 31, 1932, the daughter of Linwood William Irby, a truck driver for the Norfolk and Western Railroad from Java, Virginia, and Nancy Lee Pindexter of Rocky Mount. By 1934, the family was living at 416 Gregory Avenue NE.
She died on November 12, 1934, from whooping cough at just two years old. Her short life, like that of her younger brother, reflects the dangers childhood illnesses once posed to even the youngest members of a family.
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