…travelled all 50 states; 95
TEWKSBURY - Mrs. Ruth M. (Procter) McLeish, age 95, the devoted Matriarch of her family, and a WWII Coast Guard Veteran, died peacefully Friday morning, November 10, at Sunny Acres Nursing & Rehabilitation Center, where she had been in residence for the past several years. She was the beloved wife for fifty-seven years of James L. McLeish, who died in 2004.
Ruth was born in October 1922, one of three children of the late Robert and Margaret (Holmes) Procter, and raised in Lowell. She was a member of Lowell High School’s Class of 1940, and the Bradshaw Business School, Class of 1941, where she trained to be a secretary. She enlisted into the U.S. Coast Guard during WW2, and was honorably discharged as a Yeoman 3rd Class. She worked for the Quartermaster at Fort Devens from 1941 until 1945, and later as the church secretary at the 1st Baptist Church in North Tewksbury until retirement. She and her husband constructed their own home in Tewksbury, where she lived for more than sixty years.
Ruth was an active member of the 1st Baptist Church, and a member of the Gamma Betas of Calvary Baptist Church. In addition to raising her family, she and her husband were avid Square Dancers. In her earlier years, she was a Girl Scout, and later served as a Girl Scout Leader. Throughout her life she enjoyed knitting, needlework, crafting, and reading.
Ruth and Jim travelled extensively across North America at first with their children, and after retirement, in their Holiday Rambler fifth wheel rig. She and Jim had visited all fifty states and nine of ten Canadian Provinces. She and her husband had also visited England and Scotland.
She leaves two daughters, Judith Gordon and her husband Douglas of No. Chelmsford, Janice Feeney and her husband Thomas of Oakton, VA; two sons, James E. and his wife Lynda (Craffey) McLeish, of Tewksbury, who served as Ruth’s primary caregivers in her late years at home, and Retired Captain, U.S.C.G., David B. and his wife Laurie (Bradford) McLeish of Burtonsville, MD; ten grandchildren, Robert Gordon and his wife Claudia of Wenatchee, WA, Emily Mayotte and her husband Tom of Surry, ME, Christine Konrad and her husband AJ of Arlington, VA, Andrew Feeney of Cambridge, Robyn Krapf and husband Mike of Feeding Hills, MA, Amanda Nichols and her husband Josh of Tewksbury, James M. McLeish and his fiancée Caitlin Hawes and Kevin K. McLeish of Tewksbury, Mindy Raglin and her husband Brad of Marriottsville, MD, and Vicki Brandon and her husband Bill of Elkridge, MD; five great grandchildren, Madison, Brooklyn, and Joshua Raglin, Carolyn Krapf, and Bennett Brandon. Ruth was predeceased by her grandchildren, Thomas Feeney and Kathryn Feeney; brother Robert Procter and sister Vera Procter.
Visiting hours Monday, Nov. 13, from 4:00 until 7:00 p.m. and Tuesday from 10:00 until 11:00 a.m. in the Tewksbury Funeral Home, corner of 1 Dewey and 975 Main Sts. (Rte. 38) TEWKSBURY CENTER, Ph. (800 in MA or 978) 851 2950. Her Funeral Service will be held Tuesday at 11:00 a.m. in the funeral home followed by burial with U.S.C.G. Honors at Tewksbury Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, memorials to Bertha Flanagan Scholarship Fund, c/o 1st Baptist Church, 1500 Andover St., Tewksbury, MA 01876 will be appreciated. tewksburyfuneralhome.com