Report of the President's Commission on the Assassination of President John F. Kennedy

Family Relationships

Eva Grant, the only sibling living in Dallas when Ruby returned in late 1947, was the family member to whom he felt closest despite recurring arguments that sometimes became physical; a notable summer 1963 altercation occurred when Ruby, angered over Eva’s complaints that he had given a friend about $800 rather than pay Vegas Club bills, shoved her and caused her to fall roughly eight feet, injuring her arm and shoulder. In early November 1963 Eva consented to an operation Ruby had long urged; she was hospitalized for about a week, leaving around November 13, and Ruby visited her two or three times daily and remained in constant contact over the November 22 weekend. Sam Ruby moved from Chicago to Dallas in July 1955 at Eva’s suggestion to work as a builder; he and Jack were never particularly close, partly because of an unpaid $5,500 loan, but Sam did enter into a partnership with Jack’s friend Ralph Paul in an unsuccessful ice cream business. Jack had sporadic contacts with his brother Earl (who moved from Chicago to Detroit around 1960), the most successful of the brothers, who often supplied business advice and capital; Earl estimated that Jack owed him about $15,000 at the time of his arrest. Jack also borrowed at least $1,000, and probably more, from his sister Marion in Chicago.

Social Relationships

Allegations that Ruby was a homosexual are not supported by the available evidence: he did not frequent known gathering places for homosexuals, many of the reports were inherently suspect or rested on inaccurate premises, and Ruby, his associates, and his employees denied the charge. The claims relied on hearsay, Ruby’s lisp, a “feeling” that he was a “sissy” or “weird,” his occasionally high-pitched voice when angry, or the erroneous assumption that he did not date women. For roughly eleven years Ruby dated Alice Reaves Nichols, a blonde divorcee and insurance company secretary who saw him twice weekly from 1948 to 1956 and once weekly thereafter until about 1959; although Ruby discussed marriage with her, both dated other people during that period, and the record overall indicates that Ruby sought and enjoyed feminine company.