Ruth Nell Mason Monroe, 73, formerly of 1261 Old US Route 421, Lillington, North Carolina, died on November 28, 2014 at the Legacy Rehab and Care Center in Bullhead City, Arizona of natural causes.

A native of Harnett County, North Carolina, Nell was the daughter of Thelma Messer and Dougle Buie Mason and was preceded in death by her parents and brother, Billy Buie Mason. Nell was born on March 27, 1941 at her family home in Lillington, North Carolina, where she lived with her family before relocating to Sanford, where she attended high school and played basketball at Sanford Central.

Her love of travel took her to Germany, where she coached basketball, and then to California, New Hampshire, Colorado, and Arizona before she returned to her home town of Lillington. Nell moved to Andover in 1976 and was a member of the Andover Snowmobile Club for many years; volunteered at Andover Elementary, where her daughters attended school; and opened her home on Routes 4 and 11 frequently for barbecues, clambakes, and dinner parties, and also each holiday season for a Christmas Open House, attended by the Proctor Academy kindergarten class.

In addition to being an avid fan of the Celtics, Patriots and other sports, Nell loved music and dancing, sports cars – especially Mustangs – and had a true passion for gardening, Christmas, entertaining, and most of all, cooking. She enjoyed being active in her community and was a volunteer in the Andover Ladies Fire Auxiliary and a member of the Four Seasons Garden Club of Lillington.

She is survived by her daughter, Cerise Bienvenue-Boston and husband Robert Boston of Las Vegas, Nevada; her daughter Dana Cohen and husband Jeff Cohen, of Denver, Colorado; her grandchildren Thomas, Daniel, and Alexandra Lampert and Kimberlin and JD Cohen; her sister-in-law, June Benbrook of Bullhead City, Arizona; and many beloved cousins in the Harnett County area of North Carolina.

There will be remembrance ceremonies held in Bullhead City, San Francisco, Andover, and Harnett County.

Memorial gifts may be made to Ephesus Presbyterian Church in care of Pastor Bert Pitchford, 530 Peach Farm Road, Lillington NC 27546.