Ruby Dee Cobb dies four months after losing two sons to gun violence

Ruby Dee Cobb, a mother who lost two sons to gun violence during the summer months, died Wednesday after a long battle with pancreatic cancer. She was 53.

Cobb died four months after the death of her two sons, Kenneth Holloway Jr. and Terry Cobb. Holloway was shot to death on June 18 during an alleged argument with a friend. Terry Cobb was gunned down two weeks later the day before the Fourth of July. At the time of his death, he was sought by authorities for a July 4, 2015, homicide.

In a September interview with the Ledger-Enquirer, Cobb said the cancer had responded well to chemotherapy before her sons’ deaths but had become more aggressive. Yet, she hoped to live longer to care for her grandchildren.

“Before Kenny died, they told me my cancer was gone,” she said. “I went and did a CT scan about a week ago and they told me that it came back. So now I’ve got to do radiation and chemo, but I’ll be fine with it. I’ll let the good Lord handle it like he handled the situation in the beginning.”

Jacqueline Edwards, Cobb’s youngest sister, said she died around 7:30 a.m. at her home on Mason Street after being at a hospice for two days. Edwards said Cobb was unresponsive, and the family called an ambulance. But Cobb had a note stating she didn’t want to be resuscitated.

Edwards, 42, said Cobb had been getting radiation for the cancer, but doctors told her last week that there was nothing more they could do.

“They said she had lost too much weight and there was too much (stress) on her,” Edwards said. “And they said the cancer had spread.”

Cobb remained at the hospital until Friday when she was transferred to Gentiva Hospice, Edwards said. She returned home Monday night at her own request.

Edwards said Cobb was the oldest of seven siblings. In 1984, their mother died, and Cobb took custody of Edwards and two younger siblings when she was only 20 years old. They spent many years in public housing, where Cobb struggled to raise her siblings, along with her seven sons. She lost one son in a 1993 fire at Wilson Apartments when he was only 6 months old, Cobb told the Ledger-Enquirer.

“It was like 10 of us when we were coming up in a five-bedroom at Elizabeth Canty,” Edwards said. “But she took care of all of us.”

Despite the challenges, Cobb was all about family, Edwards said.

“You need some place to stay, she’s going to let you stay,” she said. “You need something to eat, she’s going to feed you. That’s just the type of person she was. She don’t discriminate or turn her back on nobody, and she’s always been like that.”

Cobb died on her youngest son’s 23rd birthday, Edwards said. Before dying, she called that son, DeMarko Holloway, to her bedside to wish him a happy birthday and tell him that she loved him. She fell asleep and then started calling all of her sons by name, Edwards said. And then she breathed her last breath.

Edwards said dealing with the deaths of Cobb and her two sons is almost unbearable.

“Three back-to-back, two within two weeks, and then their mama,” she said. “It’s just hard.”

This story was originally published November 2, 2016 at 1:34 PM with the headline "Ruby Dee Cobb dies four months after losing two sons to gun violence."