DescriptionGreeting card with a handwritten note and accompanying envelope, addressed to Jack Ruby at Parkland Hospital.
The front of the card reads: "May the Good Shepherd Watch Over You" and has an image of Jesus praying.
Inside is printed:
"May the Good Shepherd,
In kindness and love,
Grant you His blessings
And strength from above;
And, waking or sleeping,
In all that you do,
May you know that He keeps
Loving watch over you."
It is signed: "Mrs. L. A. Wood"
The handwritten note on the back of the card reads:
"Spokane Wn.
Dec. 14-66
Dear Jack
I am very sorry you are so ill. We need men like you to save our America from the communist. You should have a medal of Honor for executing a the communist that murdered our President. NOT prison walls.
God bless you.
Hope this little card helps a little.
Sincerely
L. A. Wood"
The envelope is addressed:
"Mr. Jack Ruby
c/o Parkland Memorial Hospital
Ferry Hines Blvd.
Dallas, Texas, 75235
From:
Mrs. Laura A. Wood
N. 5007 Altamont Street
Spokane, Wash. 99207"
Postmarked:
"2 Spokane Wash.
DEC 17 1966
PM"
Stamped with a 5 cent U.S. Christmas stamp
The back of the envelope is numbered "48" in blue ink.
Curatorial Commentary
According to the donor of this card, former Dallas County deputy sheriff Al Maddox, Jack Ruby began receiving letters and telegrams immediately after the shooting of Lee Harvey Oswald on November 24, 1963. Letters continued to arrive on a regular basis until just after Jack Ruby's death at Parkland Memorial Hospital on January 3, 1967. Maddox recalled that within twenty-four hours of the Oswald shooting, Ruby had already received 98 letters; most were congratulatory, while only four specifically criticized his act of violence. After that, remembered Al Maddox, "he'd get a hundred a day. It was nothing to get a hundred a day--85, 90 letters a day."
This December 1966 Christmas card is especially interesting as it demonstrates that more than three years after the Kennedy assassination individuals around the country continued to support Jack Ruby's shooting of accused presidential assassin Lee Harvey Oswald. - Stephen Fagin, Curator
This card was displayed in the Museum's temporary exhibition, "Jack Ruby: The Man in That Hat" from October 2010 to August 2011. - Lindsey Richardson, Curator of Collections
