Ruth Ripley

02/27/2004

Ruth Ripley, 91, of Devon Road died Friday at Kimball Farms following a brief illness. Born in Newton Center on July 7, 1912, daughter of Dr. John Bergeson and Charlotte Lucy True Bergeson, she attended schools there. She was a 1934 graduate of Wellesley College. She and her husband, George Ripley, owned the former Pilgrims Inn on Route 7. She was a member of the Lenox, Lenox Garden and Mahkeenac Boat clubs. A bench was dedicated to Mrs. Ripley in Lilac Park in Lenox. Her husband, whom she married in 1936, died Dec. 21, 1987. She leaves three daughters, Virginia Hathaway of Cambridge, Charlotte Sorenson of Boulder, Colo., and Anne Ripley of Lexington; two sons, George Ripley of Washington, D.C., and Franklin Lawrence Ripley of Stockbridge, six grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. FUNERAL NOTICE -- Ruth Bergeson Ripley, 91, of Devon Road, Stockbridge, died Friday, Feb. 27, 2004, surrounded by her family. A memorial service will be held Saturday, March 27, at 4 at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Stockbridge. A reception will follow at the Lenox Club. Ruth will be remembered for her radiant smile and for the open-hearted hospitality with which she greeted guests and friends throughout her life and when she and her husband ran the Pilgrims Inn on Route 7. Ruth inspired her wide community of family and friends with her joy in life, her sparkling wit and conversation, her appreciation of beauty, and her delight and faith in people. A bench has been dedicated to Ruth in Lilac Park in Lenox. The plaque reads, "If I keep a green bough in my heart, a singing bird will come." (Chinese proverb) She also leaves six grandchildren, Lucy and Nathan Hathaway; Kristin, Katrina and Eric Sorenson and Ripley Carlson; along with five great-grandchildren, Soren and Tessa Peterson, Emily Sorenson and Will and Sophie Stark. In lieu of flowers, if friends desire, memorial donations may be made to the Lenox Garden Club through FINNERTY AND STEVENS FUNERAL HOME, 426 Main St., Great Barrington, MA 01230.

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