Built Ruthless.
Delivering Transformation.

Born in 1920s North Carolina as the daughter of sharecroppers, Queen Matilda Miles was one of fifteen children. She later married Joe Hicks Sr., raised fourteen children, maintained a household, and worked multiple jobs out of sheer determination.

Queen also raised the majority of her grandchildren, everyone except four.

She never stopped working and passed away in 1997.

Because of Queen's sacrifice and relentless work ethic, her children and grandchildren went on to become retired senior military leaders, head librarians, nurses, pastors, a mathematician, florists, a dentist, a technology director, public servants, software engineers, teachers, warehouse leaders, and entrepreneurs.

Queen Matilda Miles built a foundation of discipline, sacrifice, and perseverance that continues across generations.

Her life is a reminder that strength, responsibility, and relentless work can transform entire families.

Born in 1917 in Sussex County, Virginia, Ruth Briggs Wilks was one of twelve children. Her father was a descendant of the Nottoway Indians, and her mother descended from freed Black store owners during the Civil War era.

Ruth completed only the eighth grade and married in 1935. She began her career as a maid and seamstress, but she and her husband soon became entrepreneurs — building a beauty salon, barber shop, and gasoline trucking business before moving into real estate investing in the 1950s in the Deep South.

Widowed in 1963, Ruth continued building. When local banks refused to serve Black families in Emporia, Virginia, she became the community's informal bank — helping families finance homes, businesses, and opportunities they otherwise could not access.

Ruth was the nucleus of our family, quietly financing college educations, home purchases, and countless needs across generations. She also provided business services to a local funeral home and continued managing her properties and finances well into her later years.

From my grandmother, I learned everything — from changing a tire to settling accounts and collecting rent from tenants.

She worked until she was 88 and passed away in 2009. Today, Ruth's descendants include an academic dean, a nurse, a business owner, and a technology director.

Ruth Briggs Wilks embodied foundational excellence, resilience, and grit. She did the work others wouldn't, built what others said couldn't be built, and left generations stronger because of it.

That legacy is the spirit behind Queen & Briggs. She was Built Ruthless.