White River Junction, VT – Ruth May (Broich) John, 95, died Friday January 9, 2015, at Brookside Nursing Home.
Ruth was born April 13, 1919, in Paterson, NJ, the daughter of John and Eva (McKeon) Broich. Her early life was spent in northern New Jersey. She graduated from Eastside High School in Paterson in 1937, then worked as a secretary and studied drama in New York City before marrying S. W. "Bill" John in 1942. Their early married life, during WWII, was spent in several states in the south, and after the war, following her husband's teaching career, they lived in Paterson, NJ, Peekskill, NY, West Hartford, CT, and St. Johnsbury, VT before moving to Torrington, CT in 1955. Ruth devoted herself exclusively to the role of wife and mother for the first 20 years of marriage. In the mid-1960's, she began working at the Torrington Public Library and did similar work at the Kent School Library after she and her husband moved to Kent in 1973. With her husband, she also helped establish and run the ongoing summer book sale that raises funds for the Kent Public Library. For most of the last ten years of her life, she lived at Geer Village in Canaan, CT, where she made many friends. Among her many lifelong hobbies and interests were theater, ballet, and classical music, especially opera. She was also an avid reader and particularly relished historical biographies and books about European and American history. For several years, while living in Torrington, she taught community education classes in chair caning and stenciling. Ruth was a devoted member of the altar guild at St Andrew's Episcopal Church in Kent for many years. Among her many personal attributes, her dry sense of humor and her gift as a listener will be greatly missed. Ruth was predeceased by her husband, Samuel W. John, in 2005 and very recently by her son William T. John. She leaves her daughters R. Katherine (Neil) McCrimmon of Southport, England; Mary Ann (Mark) Sigmond of Minneapolis, MN; and Patricia (Jeffrey) Kent of Quechee, VT; eight grandchildren, and eight great-grandchildren. A combined memorial service for Ruth and her son William (Bill) will be held on April 18th (11 AM) at St. Andrew's Episcopal Church in Kent, CT. Contributions in her memory may be made to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital,http://www.stjude.org (Tel. 800-822-6344).