Margaret Ruth Whybrow, 85, died peacefully on August 22, 2024, at Woodstock Terrace in Woodstock, Vermont, beloved by all who cared for her and shared her company.

Ruth was born on September 28, 1938, in Portsmouth, England to George and Doris Steele, the eldest of four children. She grew up in Hatfield, Hertfordshire, excelled in school and sports, and went on to the University of Manchester before earning her master's in social work from the London School of Economics. In 1962, she married Peter Whybrow, with whom she had shared a life of adventure from their early teens, riding a tandem bicycle around Europe and all over England. Furthering their adventures, in 1965 they sailed on the Queen Elizabeth II to North Carolina where they welcomed two daughters, Kate and Helen. Eventually they settled in the Upper Valley, first in Hanover and then in Plainfield NH. Ruth became rapidly engaged in public health in the area, most notably, for many years, as a director with West Central Behavioral Health. She also held faculty appointments at the Smith College School of Social Work and at Dartmouth Medical School.

Through her long and varied social work career, Ruth eventually specialized in helping elders and supporting people who cared for them, as well as offering one-on-one counseling and therapy through her private practice. It was through a support group for caregivers that she met her partner, Kate Siepmann, with whom she lived in Strafford, Vermont for many years. All her life, she was an active, valued member of the communities in which she lived. She served on the Plainfield School Board, and on the Board of Trustees at Kimball Union Academy, as well as the Friends of the Justin Morrill Homestead and the Strafford Library.

Ruth had a passion for helping people, and was a truly compassionate, insightful listener, a deeply caring soul and a loving friend, partner, mother and grandmother. Always, Ruth would find a way to be cheerful, positive and appreciative for the smallest kindnesses and moments in life. She believed that the most valuable part of her life was the relationships she developed and maintained in her family and her communities.

Ruth loved long walks, and was an avid reader, always recommending and gifting books to loved ones. She had a sharp mind, a ready smile and great laugh, a wonderful sense of humor and a gentle grace that made everyone at ease in her presence. She was a talented gardener, a skill she had learned from her father, and kept a bountiful vegetable garden for most of her life. She often had a film camera in her hand, especially in the early mornings when she loved to walk and photograph patterns and shadows, developing her black and white photographs in her darkroom and keeping meticulous photo albums.

Ruth was diagnosed with Alzheimer's dementia in 2014, and throughout its long and difficult trial she showed everyone who knew her what it means to have indomitable spirit and an enduring sense of gratitude. We are so blessed to have had her as our matriarch, and we endeavor to carry on all that she gave us. Ruth leaves behind her children, Kate Whybrow (David McGough) of Plainfield, NH; Helen Whybrow (Peter Forbes) of Waitsfield, VT; her siblings Peter Steele, Elizabeth Priest, and Jane Steele, all in England; as well as her four grandchildren, Chase, Gavin, Willa, and Wren. She is also survived by her partner, Kate Siepmann, and her former husband, Peter Whybrow.

A Celebration of Life for Ruth Whybrow will be held on her 86th birthday, September 28, 2024, at 3 pm at her daughter's home: 95 Daniels Road, Plainfield, NH. All are welcome.

Knight Funeral Home has been entrusted with arrangements. An online guestbook can be found at www.knightfuneralhomes.com