Ruth K. Beers, 95
GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass. — Ruth K. Beers, 95, of Hurlburt Road died Wednesday evening, April 29, 2009, at home.
Born in Sleepy Eye, Minn., on June 4, 1913, daughter of Albert and Caroline Bender Kelm, she attended schools there and graduated from high school in 1930. She also attended the University of Minnesota and George Washington University. She moved to Sheffield in 1948 and to Hurlburt Road in 1951.
Mrs. Beers was employed at the former Berkshire School for Boys and at Simon's Rock College of Bard. She had worked at the U.S. Departments of Labor and of Justice in Washington during the 1930s and was senior legal secretary for U.S. Attorney General Homer Cummings and Assistant Attorney General William Stanley.
She was a founding member of Faith Evangelical Lutheran Church in Pittsfield. An active member of the community, she was a board member and secretary of the Thursday Morning Club, a board member of the Great Barrington Visiting Nurses Association and a longtime volunteer of the former This and That Shop. She also was a volunteer at Fairview Hospital and at Tanglewood for more than 30 years and volunteered for the Stockbridge Chamber Concerts. She and her husband, Ralph E. Beers, founded the Down Country Square Dance Club.
She also enjoyed outdoor sports including skiing, golf, camping and traveling and was an avid bridge player.
Her husband, whom she married on Dec. 23, 1941, in Sleepy Eye, died Oct. 14, 1990.
She leaves three daughters, Carol L. Beers of Seattle, Judith B. Conner of Reading and Stephanie B. Waldron of Little Falls, N.Y.; her sister, Milda K. Dey of Sleepy Eye; her granddaughters Lisa, Kate, Carolyn and Dana and six nieces and nephews.
FUNERAL NOTICE — Funeral services celebrating the life of Mrs. Beers will be conducted Monday, May 4, at 10:30 a.m. at Finnerty & Stevens Funeral Home in Great Barrington by the Rev. Peter Kesting, pastor of Faith Evangelical Lutheran Church. Burial will follow in Peltonbrook Cemetery in Great Barrington.
The family will receive friends on Sunday, May 3, from 3 to 5 at the funeral home.
In keeping with the expressed wishes of Mrs. Beers, in lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Faith Evangelical Lutheran Church, to Christ Church Episcopal, Trinity Lutheran Church in Sheffield for its Window Fund or to HospiceCare in the Berkshires through funeral home, 426 Main St., Great Barrington, MA 01230. Remembrances, memories and reflections may be sent to the family through www.finnertyandstevens.com.