Ruth M. Richardson, 97

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. —  Ruth Margaret Richardson died Wednesday, January 15, 2025, at North Adams Regional Hospital. Although she preferred to say her age was unlisted she was in fact 97.

Born in Rochester, New York, on August 1, 1927, she was the daughter of Herman Felix and Rosalie Esther (Archambault) LaForest. The family returned to North Adams in 1929. She was graduated from Drury High School with the Class of 1946. She was a cheerleader at Drury and worked part-time after school at Clark Biscuit Company.

Ruth attended Franklin County School of Nursing in Greenfield and became a Registered Nurse in 1949. She began her nursing career in the old North Adams Hospital and was a ward supervisor at the Clark House when it housed patients during the transition to the new North Adams Regional Hospital which opened in 1955. She worked in the operating room at NARH until 1968 when she relocated to Worcester.

Ruth worked in Worcester while managing the Richardson Rest Home in North Adams before returning to the Berkshires in the late 1970s. She continued to work per diem in the Emergency Room at NARH, the Crane Center at Berkshire Medical Center, the VNA, and in the infirmaries at Williams and North Adams State colleges. She wintered in Florida for many years where she worked per diem at Morton Plant Hospital in Clearwater.

In retirement, she was no less active. For over twenty years, Ruth served as a Massachusetts Long-Term Care Ombudsman at skilled nursing facilities throughout Berkshire County. She continued her service as an ombudsman until the age of 95 and fearlessly advocated for patients and their families throughout the Covid pandemic. She was a long-time member of the Williamstown Board of Health.

Ruth traveled widely throughout the United States. She crossed every ocean and nearly every sea by ship and visited scores of countries across every continent.

In her younger years was an active and competitive sportswoman who excelled at figure and speed skating, flyfishing, and downhill, cross-country and water skiing. An avid golfer, she placed in many tournaments in the Berkshires, Florida and Bermuda. She was a member of the Williams College Faculty Club, a fierce Bridge player, an usher for many years at Williamstown Theatre Festival and volunteered at the Clark Art Institute for over twenty-five years.

She was a devout Roman Catholic and active parishioner at Saints Patrick and Raphael Parish in Williamstown. Ruth took great comfort in the close-knit parish community.

In addition to her parents, Ruth was predeceased by her daughter Gail who died tragically at the age of five in 1959, brothers Herman E. and Richard L. LaForest, nieces and nephews, Susan LaForest, Carol (LaForest) Wagner, Robert LaForest and William LaForest

Ruth is survived by a large extended family of nieces, nephews, cousins and friends, including Jason M. (Suzanne) LaForest, and his children Benjamin and Nicholas LaForest, Sam (Kerry) Manandhar, Teresa (Michael) McLain, Paul LaForest, Daniel LaForest and his sons Stephen and Michael, Beth (Pete) Armstrong and her daughters Ashley McLear and Kristine (Laura) Fitzgerald, and Lori (Mike) Butterfield and her sons Christopher and David Butterfield.

With immense gratitude Ruth’s family wishes to recognize Northern Berkshire EMS and the nurses and doctors at HospiceCare in the Berkshires and North Adams Regional Hospital for the truly exceptional care and compassion she received in the days prior to her death. Ruth was truly pleased to be able to die at the hospital she loved and where she spent so much of her life.

Her family would also like to thank her physician Doctor Lisa Downing-Forget at Southern Vermont Medical Center and the pastoral team at Saints Patrick and Raphael Parish led by the Reverend John P. McDonagh, and the Reverend William F. Cyr, all of whom supported Ruth with obvious affection and spiritual support in her final days.

FUNERAL NOTICE: Funeral services for Ruth Margaret (LaForest) Richardson will take place on Friday, January 24, 2025, at 8:30 A.M., at Flynn & Dagnoli Home for Funerals CENTRAL CHAPELS located at 74 Marshall Street, North Adams, followed by the Funeral Mass at 10:00 A.M. in Saint Patrick Church, Southworth Street, Williamstown. Burial will follow in Southview Cemetery, North Adams. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Saints Patrick and Raphael Food Pantry through the funeral home. To add to the Book of Memories, please visit www.flynndagnolifuneralhomes.com