Ruth Leslie White

Ruth "Nicci" L. White, a longtime resident of Hopkinton, New Hampshire, passed away peacefully on Saturday, June 27, at Granite Ledges in Concord, NH with her children by her side. She was 94. Ruth is survived by her four children: Robert White and his wife Maureen of Hopkinton, Carrie Peterson and her husband Gregg of Webster, David White and his partner Sarah Bohannan of Hopkinton, and Judith Currier and her husband Devan of Randolph Center, Vermont. She also leaves nine grandchildren and fourteen great-grandchildren. She was predeceased by her sister Sylvia Myers Willoughby and by her husband of 50 years, Stanley White.

Ruth was born in Bennington, Vermont, in July 1931. Her New Hampshire roots ran deep: her father, Col. Charles Hayward, was from Temple, NH, and her mother, Gladys Clough Hayward, was from Contoocook, NH. As the daughter of an Army colonel, Ruth attended schools in seven U.S. states and in Japan, where her father was posted after World War II.

She graduated from Boston University in 1953 with a degree in physical therapy and soon married her high school sweetheart, Stan, at Sargent College Chapel in Boston. After Stan's naval service, they raised their four children in Hopkinton, where they operated Duston Country Club for twenty years. Ruth practiced physical therapy for many years, including positions at Havenwood and the VNA, and later worked with Stan as a real estate agent. Widowed in 2003, she also enjoyed many years of companionship with her close friend David "Duffy" Dodge of St. Johnsbury, Vermont.

Known affectionately as "Ruthie," she was celebrated for her generous spirit as a mother, Nannie, friend, neighbor, and volunteer. Ruth was active in the Women's Fellowship of the First Congregational Church of Hopkinton, the Hopkinton Women's Club, the Hopkinton Historical Society, and the Hopkinton Marching Band. She helped found the volunteer-based Hopkinton Hospice, served as a district coordinator for the Contoocook Valley Pony Club, and directed the Cherub Choir for many years. Throughout her children's school years she contributed to countless school events and fundraisers.

Family and friends will fondly remember her midnight molasses cookies, ice cream desserts, warm holiday gatherings, matchmaking efforts, commemorative poems, and steadfast love for her family. Ruth was also an accomplished oil painter, creating portraits, floral works, and murals that adorn her beloved cottage on Jo Sylvia Lake. She enjoyed buying and selling antiques with close friends Sally, Ginny, Marge, and Shirley.

Ruth will be buried next to her husband, Stan, at Hopkinton Village Cemetery. A celebration of her life will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Friday, August 14, at the First Congregational Church of Hopkinton, followed by a reception at St. Methodias on Clement Pond.

The family extends their gratitude to the caregivers at Sunapee Cove, Granite Ledges, and Granite VNA Hospice for their dedicated care. In lieu of flowers, donations in Ruth's memory may be made to the First Congregational Church of Hopkinton (firstchurchhopkinton.org), the Alzheimer's Association (alz.org), or Granite VNA (granitevna.org).