Ruth Boardman Wilson of Needham, Massachusetts passed away peacefully on June 25, 2023 after a brief illness. She was 96 years old.
Ruth was born on December 29, 1926 in Waterbury, Connecticut. After spending her junior year abroad in Zurich, Switzerland, she graduated from Wellesley College in 1948. While pursuing a graduate degree at Ohio State University she met and married Milan D. Barnes in September 1950. After residing briefly in Granville, Ohio, Syracuse, New York and Newton, Massachusetts, Ruth and Milan moved to Wellesley, Massachusetts. Milan passed away in 1964. In 1969 Ruth married Vincent M. Wilson, who passed away in 1984. In 2004 Ruth moved to North Hill in Needham, Massachusetts, where she lived for the rest of her life, the last several years of which she enjoyed with her partner George Rockwell.
Ruth was a devoted wife, mother, grandmother and great grandmother and was both selfless and compassionate. She had a lifelong interest in flowers and flower arranging, being an early member of the Wellesley Garden Club, a docent at Arnold Arboretum, a longtime member of the Altar Guild at St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church in Wellesley (where she was a parishioner for 70 years) and a founder of the flower arranging group at North Hill. She served as a volunteer with the Junior League of Boston and was an active alumna of Wellesley College. In addition to spending time at a vacation residence in Scottsdale, Arizona, Ruth traveled widely throughout North and South America, Europe, Asia and Australia in furtherance of her interest in art, wildlife and other cultures.
Ruth was predeceased by her husbands Milan and Vin, her older sister Mary Waldo and her grandson Jack Barnes. She is survived by her son David Barnes and his partner Michelle Grenier of Durham, New Hampshire; her daughter Kathryn Barnes and her husband Mick England of Lynn, Massachusetts; granddaughters Laura DeAngelo of Greensboro, North Carolina, Christina DeAngelo of Champaign, Illinois and Elissa (“Mo”) Barnes of Greenfield, New Hampshire; grandson Seth Barnes and his wife Samantha of Hawthorne, California and their children Cecily and Beckett; niece Allie Stoughton of Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts; stepdaughter Joan Kermashek and her husband John of Orlando, Florida; numerous step grandchildren and step great grandchildren; and partner George Rockwell.
Ruth’s life will be celebrated at a private service to be held later this summer. Contributions in honor of Ruth’s life can be made to the Helen Coe Boardman 1916 Memorial Fund for Student Financial Aid, a scholarship fund for Wellesley College students established by Ruth and her late sister Mary in memory of their mother (Wellesley College Development Office, 106 Central St., Wellesley, MA 02481).