Ruby Flood Carver passed away peacefully on September 16, surrounded by loving family members. Ruby was a remarkable woman whose life was full of kindness, grace, generosity and dignity - traits that so endeared her to her family and all who knew her. Her family, originally from Island Pond, VT, moved to New Britain, CT, where she was born on Sept. 25, 1928. Ruby was raised on the family farm in Suffield, CT where she graduated from high school. She attended New England Deaconess Hospital School of Nursing in Boston where she received her RN degree in 1949. During her training in Boston she met her future husband, Walter Carver, who predeceased her in 1999. Ruby worked as a pediatric nurse in Rhode Island and Boston while Walter completed his orthopedic surgery training. They moved to South Hadley, MA in 1955 when Walter established an orthopedic practice in Holyoke. Ruby lived in South Hadley until 2015 when she moved to Williamstown, MA, to be closer to family.

Those who knew Ruby know that her greatest passion was her family. Ruby raised 5 children, was very involved in the raising of her 8 grandchildren, and spent as much time as she could with her 12 great grandchildren. She was the epicenter of her large, close and happy family. The Carvers had a very active family life, which included raising animals on their property in South Hadley, and trips on the family boat around the New England waters and down the Intracoastal Waterway to Florida. The Carver family's active home life was further enriched by the hosting of foreign students from Mount Holyoke College. In her later years, Ruby created many beautiful knitted and needlepoint pieces for her family.

True to her giving nature, Ruby participated in volunteer work, including teaching clinics at the Holyoke Hospital, and working with the Junior League of Holyoke. She was active in the First Congregational Church in South Hadley, which she joined in 1955. The volunteer activity that brought her great joy and satisfaction was establishing the Center Nursery School at the First Congregational Church. In 1958 she and several church members founded this very successful school, which is still operating today. From 1955 to 1989 Ruby also managed the family's real estate properties.

Ruby's oldest child, Susan Gamble, passed away in February, 2016. Ruby is survived by her 4 children, David, Bradford, Jane and Donald Carver, her 8 grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren. Susan's husband George Gamble, daughter Sara and husband Jason and daughter Ava live on Martha's Vineyard. Susan's son Derek, wife Kathleen and daughters Ella, Hadley and Charlotte live in Ramsey, NJ. Son David Carver and wife Wende live in Williamstown, MA along with 2 of their daughters: Rachaele Carver Morin, husband Peter and daughters Claire and Ruby; and Rebecca Ticconi, husband Peter and their children Mikayla, Isabella, Julian, Sofia and Luca. David's daughter Heather Carver-McWilliams, husband James and son Carver live in Brooklyn, NY. Son Brad Carver and wife Helen Tramposch live in Wayland, MA, and their son Jamie is enrolled at Syracuse University. Daughter Jane Carver and husband Ron Cooper live in Clayton, NY and Placida, FL. Son Donald Carver and wife Tamara live in West Point, VA; their daughter Miranda Carver-Martin and husband Jeremy live in Silver Springs, MD, and daughter Kaylyn Carver and fianc Coltrane Conklin live in Richmond, VA.

SERVICES: A memorial service to celebrate Ruby's life will be held at 1:30 PM on Saturday, October 23 at the First Congregational Church of South Hadley, One Church Street.

In lieu of flowers, gifts may be made to Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in memory of Ruby F. Carver to support cancer research and patient care at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, P.O. Box 849168, Boston, MA 02284 or via www.dana-farber.org/gift. Gifts may also be made to the First Congregational Church of South Hadley, MA, One Church Street, South Hadley, MA 01075.

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Published by The Berkshire Eagle on Sep. 19, 2017.