Ruth Corsini

Ruth Corsini, January 11, 1911---November 18, 2014. When Ruth (Wyman) Corsini moved to Westwood in 1945 with her husband Arthur, her son David, and her daughter Donna, Westwood had a population of 5000 and 21 Dayton Avenue, her home for the next 64 years, faced a dirt road. What she brought with her and what endured throughout her life were the values and interests that had been shaped by her parents, her schooling, and her intrinsic sense of knowing what matters: the making of a home, the nurturing of a family, the enriching of the mind. Born on January 11, 1911 (1-11-11), Ruth was a witness, participant, and product of the 20th century: living in Dedham and coming of age in the 20s; expanding her world as a student at Wellesley College in the early 30s with a focus on Latin, Greek, the Humanities, and teacher training; facing the challenges of finding a job as a woman at the height of the depression; bearing witness to the unfolding of the 20th century by recounting to family and friends her personal experiences and historical events. As a girl and young woman, her summers were spent on Boot Pond in Plymouth, MA, with her two sisters. Home there was a rustic cabin with a wood cook stove, no electricity or running water, but with the beauty of the pond and its surroundings and the prospect of catching a fish for breakfast with a safety pin. There she acquired an enduring love for simplicity and the natural world that was reinforced later by the beauty of the Wellesley College campus and frequent visits to Vermont. Nurturing her family was central to her life. She shared her interests in arts and cultural events with her husband Arthur Corsini, a watercolorist and art professor at Massachusetts College of Art, and with her children, grandchildren, and friends. The pursuits of the mind were, also, essential: playing the recorder for ten years with a small group of musicians; teaching English and Latin at Westwood High School for over a decade (1954-1965); attending operatic performances and listening to Saturday Afternoon at the Opera; being an avid reader and a devotee of The New Yorker and the Maine writer Sarah Orne Jewett; attending her class of 1932 meetings and luncheons at Wellesley College well into her late 90s; taking Italian classes. To celebrate her 100th birthday (1-11-2011) and the Metropolitan Operas 80th broadcasting season, she had a radio interview that aired nationally with a staff member from the Met who honored her loyalty to and love of opera. In short, her family, learning, and the arts sustained her. Travel did as well. With a strong, independent spirit, she thrived on memories of her 1933 Grand Tour of Europe, her eight (8) trips to Italy, and her solo venture to Morocco in the mid-60s to help her daughter as a new mother serving in the Peace Corps and to care for her newly born granddaughter. This caring extended to others. She knit for the Red Cross, joined an intergenerational chorus of elders and Westwood 4th graders, nurtured many wonderful friends, and spent fifteen years at the Westwood Gallery promoting and selling the works of area artists. Ruth shared with her grandchildren and others Ralph Waldo Emerson's view of a successful life: "To win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; To appreciate beauty; To leave the world a bit better whether by a healthy child, a redeemed social condition, or a job well done; To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived---this is to have succeeded." Ruth's life is testimony to these markers of success. Ruth died quietly and gently on Tuesday, November 18, 2014, at the age of 103. She was predeceased by her husband Arthur Corsini and her parents Margaret and Wilbur Wyman. She is survived by her son David Corsini, her daughter Donna Corsini Marshall, six (6) grandchildren, eight (8) great-grandchildren, and her sisters Muriel Weismann (age 101) and Mary Wyman (age 98). A committal service will be held at the Westwood Cemetery in May, 2015. Donations in Ruth's honor may be sent to: Hale Reservation, 80 Carby Street, Westwood, MA 02090, attention the camp scholarship program.