Ruth Ann "Weiss" Sauvain

Ruth Ann (Weiss) Sauvain
August 30, 1939 – September 25, 2025

Ruth Ann Sauvain, 86, passed away peacefully on September 25, 2025, surrounded by loved ones.

Born on August 30, 1939, to Myrtle (McGrath) and George Weiss Sr., Ruth was the fourth of five children and the last to be born at home.

In 1959, Ruth enlisted in the United States Air Force, where she met the love of her life, Claude R. Sauvain Jr. They married in 1961 and together embraced the adventures of military life, being stationed in many places across the U.S. and abroad, including the United Kingdom and Germany. Everywhere she went, Ruth created connections and formed lifelong friendships. She had a gift for opening her heart and home to others, building a sense of family that extended far beyond blood ties. Along the way, she also pursued her education, ultimately completing her bachelor's degree through four different universities.

After the loss of both her mother in 1978 followed by her husband in 1979, Ruth returned home to Millville. She went on to work as an LPN at Newcomb Hospital for many years before beginning a new career with the U.S. Postal Service in Bellmawr, NJ. No matter where she worked, colleagues quickly became friends, and friends became family.

In retirement, Ruth continued to nurture those connections. She loved reading, movies, and a variety of friendly board and card games, but what mattered most was the company around the table. Her "chosen family" grew to include the children of her friends, new neighbors, and even the employees at her favorite restaurant. She was especially known for her quiet brilliance in Trivial Pursuit-never competitive, always humble, but always the one you wanted on your team.

Above all, Ruth cherished the love of family-both the one she was born into and the one she built along the way. She showed those around her that family is not only who you share a name with, but who you share your heart with.

Ruth is now reunited with her love Claude, Her parents and little brother Hal, and so many other friends and family she held so dear.

She is survived by her daughter, Sherri Sauvain; her "son she never had," John Rutherford; her "little sister she never had," Elsie Klawitter; and sisters-in-law, Alice Weiss and Clara Longo. She also leaves behind many nieces and nephews, along with countless friends who proudly called her family.

A celebration of Ruth's life will be announced at a later date. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the American Heart Association in her memory, or better still: Live on with Kindness in your heart and show it frequently to all in her memory.

"Let me live in a house by the side of the road, and be a friend to man" ~Sam Walter Foss

Ruth was the first to greet, the first to smile,

the first to open her arms wide.

To walk into her presence was to feel at home.

She never judged. She never measured worth.

She simply welcomed -

with kindness as natural as breath,

with love that asked for nothing in return.

She was the house by the side of the road,

steady and warm,

a shelter for weary travelers, a friend to all who passed.

Her gift was not in grand gestures, but in the everyday grace

of seeing people as they were and loving them still.

Today, though silence fills her place, her spirit has not gone.

She has gone ahead,

reunited with her beloved Claude,

her younger brother Hal, and her dear mother Myrtle -

her circle unbroken once more.

And here, in the hearts she touched, her presence lives on.

In every smile freely given, in every kindness passed along,

in every moment of true welcome - there, she is.

Ruth's life was a gift, her love a lesson.

She showed us the beauty of open arms,

open hearts, and the power of a life lived as a friend to all.

So let us not say goodbye, but thank you.

Thank you for the warmth, the laughter, the light.

Thank you for teaching us that home is not a place -

it is a person, and we were blessed to find it in you.

And I, Sherri - your only child -

carry your love within me always.

In every step I take, in every kindness I offer,

in every welcome I extend - your spirit walks beside me.