Know Thy Neighbor ~ The Montgomerys

Billy and Charlie Ruth Montgomery 

Billy and Charlie Ruth Montgomery own the second house built in Woodland Hills Subdivision. Constructed in 1987, it is the first house on the right as one enters Woodland Hills. They had, for many years, lived on Highland Street, just a few houses down from their present location, but according to Billy, “needed a bigger lot.” He got it, and even bought the adjacent lot, thinking one of his children might want to build there. That did not happen, but his son Steve would later buy an existing home in Woodland Hills.

Billy owned the drug store on Hwy. 15 N. that still bears his name, Montgomery Drugs. He retired as owner and lead pharmacist in 2003. He keeps his license current and, right now, works one or two days each week for Med Center, New Albany, MS.

The Montgomerys have been married sixty-two years. Both of them graduated Hurricane High School in Pontotoc County. Charlie Ruth recalls upon her finishing high school that Billy still had one year of college at Ole Miss before becoming a pharmacist. They had plans to marry after he finished college. Wondering what she could do in the interim, Charlie Ruth applied for work at a factory in New Albany and also enrolled in Junior College.

“My college years, lasted one day,” she explained, “I got a call to come to work at the factory, and I dropped out of school the same day.”

Life for the Montgomerys has been good. They have three remarkable children, all of whom chose careers in the medical profession. Their two sons are physicians, Steve lives and practices locally and Joseph lives in Madison and practices in Clinton, Mississippi. Their daughter Mitzi Russell is a school nurse for the Pontotoc School district. Of their six grandchildren, three have medical careers, and a fourth is studying to become a nurse.

Theirs is a close-knit family that enjoys spending time together. Many of the Montgomery Clan are members of First Baptist Church, Pontotoc. The cars you see parked in their driveway are most often those of their children or grandchildren. Additionally, they do family vacations right. As a family they have vacationed in Yellowstone National Park, toured sites in the West and the Northeastern United States, Alaska, Hawaii, and Canada.

Montgomerys on Ridgewood

Two of their three children have visited all fifty states with them, and the third has been to forty-nine states and will visit the fiftieth one, Washington, later this year when the Montgomery family flies there to board a cruise ship to Alaska.

This fall, the extended Montgomery Family will tour the Normandy region of France where American troops landed to launch a campaign to free Europe from the iron grip of the Nazi regime in World War II. They also plan to visit the concentration camps of Germany, where millions of Jews were slaughtered by the Third Reich.

Billy is the more enthusiastic sports fan of the couple, though Charlie Ruth enjoys watching basketball games locally, saying, “I don’t like sitting out in the weather to watch sports.”

Neither Billy nor Charlie Ruth are deep into a hobby, unless keeping an immaculate yard is a hobby, and in that case Billy’s hobby is working in his yard.

If you’ve lived in Woodland Hills
even a short time, surely you noticed how neatly trimmed the grounds are, and if you’ve passed by during the Christmas Season, you have no doubt enjoyed the Christmas decorations. Surely, they pride themselves in their home’s appearance, but they remain just plain good and humble folks.

Stop by sometime just to say Hi. It’ll make your day.