Ruth T. Penfield

STEWARTSTOWN, NH – Ruth Till Penfield, of Stewartstown, NH, died peacefully at the Coos County Nursing Hospital on Monday, June 11, 2018, where she received excellent care and an immeasurable amount of love. She was 98 years of age. Being the oldest resident in town, she was honored to have received the Boston Post Cane. Ruth was born on Dec. 23, 1919, to Frank and Elizabeth Till in East Orange, NJ. She married Robert Walsh Penfield on September 21, 1940, and they spent the first few years of their marriage as a Navy military family. After the war, they lived in the Hartford, CT area and parented 2 daughters and 1 son. In the summer of 1954, Ruth and Bob settled in North Stonington, CT where they raised their family. Her passion became her private school, Little Red Horse Montessori Nursery School. She developed a program incorporating Maria Montessori’s philosophy of education which stressed cultivating the child’s natural curiosity to learn, as compared to classrooms and pre-determined curriculums. An important part of the school day was being greeted by Ruth’s beloved German shepherd, Duchess. Ruth earned Montessori certification through correspondence courses from the St. Nicholas Training Centre in London working directly with Maria Montessori’s trained scholars. She also completed an intensive work study at Marymount College in New York City. Little Red Horse Montessori Nursery School was the first Montessori School in southeastern Connecticut. Ruth was actively involved in the North Stonington Congregational Church. She served as Superintendent of the church school, organized the original Kinderkirk program and was director of Christian Education. She served on the local school board and nursing board and was a Girl Scout Leader. She also involved herself with the Westerly YMCA Junior Leaders Program, the local Garden Club and taught craft/flower arranging classes for adults. During her “free time,” she painted memorable pictures with oil paints and worked with copper sheeting to design impressive pictures that she framed. Each year, when school finished in June, Ruth and her husband packed up their family and spent summers on Martha’s Vineyard where they owned/operated a guest house and snack bar at the yacht club. For several years after retiring, she split her time residing on Martha’s Vineyard, MA, in Mystic, CT and in Stewartstown NH. During her final years, she lived year-round in Stewartstown with Allen and Joan Coats on their dairy farm. There she took pleasure in going to church, watching the cows and their comical behaviors, feeding/observing the birds and gardening. She enjoyed the four seasons in a home surrounded by mountains on Bishop Brook Road and delighted in watching the local wildlife of northern New Hampshire. Ruth was predeceased by her husband (Robert), her parents (Frank and Elizabeth Till), a twin sister (Gladys), a son-in-law (Kai), and a grandson (Michael). She is survived by her three children: Gail Dawley-Knight of Okeechobee, FL; Joan Coats and her husband Allen of Stewartstown, NH, and Robert Penfield and his partner Jen of Preston, CT. Ruth also leaves behind 6 grandchildren (Lisa, Jason (Melissa), Robert (Jillian), Nellie (Anthony), Joshua (Kimmie), Alysia (Jeremy)) and 12 great-grandchildren (Della, Grace, Alexander, Gabriel, Hope, Nora, Adelaide, Anthony, Jameson, Cooper, Remy, Streeter). In addition, she leaves behind numerous nephews and nieces. There will be a graveside service at the Elm Grove Cemetery in Mystic, CT on Saturday June 16, at 2:00 P.M. In lieu of flowers, expressions of sympathy in Ruth’s memory may be made to the Coos County Nursing Home, Activities Fund, P.O. Box 10, West Stewartstown, NH 03597. Condolences may be offered to the family on-line by going to www.jenkinsnewman.com. Local funeral arrangements have been entrusted to the Jenkins & Newman Funeral Home in Colebrook.

Ruth T. Penfield

December 23, 1919 - June 11, 2018