Ruby Tufts

Obituary of Ruby Tufts
Ruby M. Tufts went peacefully to be with the Lord on May 15, 2025. She was deeply committed to her Christian faith and confident of her eternal salvation.
Ruby was born August 31, 1932 to Ralph and Ceola McEwen on her maternal grandfather's farm in Washburn, ME. After two weeks, mother and daughter returned to the family home in Bowdoinham, ME. Ruby graduated from Brunswick High School in 1949, then attended Gordon College where she majored in psychology. While at Gordon, she met divinity student and future husband Lester. They graduated in 1953 and were married that August. They headed to Chicago where Lester attended Moody Bible Institute to continue his studies. They accepted their first call serving three small Baptist churches in Lamoine, Trenton, and Hancock, ME near Acadia National Park. There they welcomed their first two children, Heather and Peter. Their next call was a larger Baptist congregation in Jay, ME where they added Heidi to their growing family. They welcomed their youngest Andrew in 1966 and three weeks later moved to serve the Congregational Churches of Danby and East Dorset, VT. For the next 27 years, they raised their family of four, nurtured their little churches, and served the community. Near the end, they took in and cared for Lester's father in his last days. They moved to Bowdoinham upon Lester's retirement to care for Ruby's elderly mother and aunt. In 1998, they moved to Nelliston, NY and built their retirement home. Those were busy years, tending another elderly aunt, caring for grandchildren, and helping with their daughter and son-in-law's greenhouse business. They downsized to a small cape in Canajoharie, NY in Fall of 2016. Soon after Lester passed away in 2020, Ruby fell and broke her hip. She never fully regained her mobility and spent her last four years at Wells Nursing Home.
Ruby was more than a pastor's wife. She was a house mother at Gordon College, then an office clerk during their stay in Chicago. She launched her own kindergarten before kindergarten was part of public school. She started Danby's Pioneer Girls Club to help provide a Christian foundation for the community's girls. She was a clerk and an officer-in-charge for the U.S. Post Office. She liked to bake, crochet, knit, and quilt. She was a mother, a caregiver, and a grandma.
Ruby was predeceased by Lester, her husband of 67 years, her parents, brother Bryce and wife Mary, brother Herschel and wife Joan, sister Diane Waldron and husband Thomas, and son-in-law Phil Zandy. She is survived by her children Heather (Cuyle) Rockwell of Palatine Bridge, NY; Peter Tufts of Dorset, VT; Heidi Zandy of Manchester, VT; and Andrew (Sarah) Tufts of Windsor, VT; eight grandchildren; six great grandchildren; and numerous nieces and nephews. She leaves a legacy of faith in Jesus Christ, of service, and love for family and friends.
There will be no public services. The family will celebrate her and Lester's lives with a graveside service later this year.
A heartfelt thank you to the staff at Wells Nursing Home for Ruby's loving care.
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