Ruth (Field) Pruneau, 89, died March 25 in Eastern New Mexico Medical Center, after a short illness. She was born Feb. 2, 1926 to Gladys Eudora (Cook) Field and Ralph Frary Field Sr. in Worcester MA. On November 28, 1946, she married Frederick Anthony Pruneau in Worcester MA. He died in 2011. Ruth leaves a daughter, Paulette (Polly) Pruneau, wife of Bob McKillop of Portland ME; a son, Thomas A. Pruneau of Berlin MA, and a niece, Linda Beeson of Roswell, her beloved caregiver in her final years.
She also leaves two grandchildren, Dana Bonin of Millbury MA and Serena Bonin of Worcester MA, four great-grandchildren, one great-great-grandchild, and many nieces and nephews.
Ruth was predeceased by her daughter, Lorraine (Laurie) Bonin Carter. She also was predeceased by two sisters, Dorothy Adams, and Shirley Raczynski, and a brother, Ralph Field Jr.
She grew up in Worcester near Lake Quinsigamond where she learned to swim and dive. She often spoke fondly of summer outings as a child at her Aunt Fannie Field’s house in Leverett, MA. Erastus Salisbury Field, a 19th century artist from Leverett, and Eugene Field, a famous poet, were among her ancestors.
She graduated from Commerce HS in Worcester and attended Simmons College and Deaconess Hospital School of Nursing, both in Boston, MA. She received her degree from Quinsigamond College, Worcester.
Ruth was a very intelligent woman with an enormous love of reading and listening to classical music. She worked in the Boylston Library, and brought her children to the library on a weekly basis. She was also a Brownie and Girl Scout leader. She was a life guard at the Greendale YMCA in Worcester.
Several years after Ruth and Fred married, they bought a home in Boylston, MA where Fred cultivated a large vegetable garden and Ruth cultivated flowers and herbs and put up vegetables, and jams and jellies. After their son, Tom, was born, they moved to West Boylston, MA and then to Albuquerque, NM. They moved to Roswell several years later.
Ruth and Fred traveled extensively, visiting all 48 contiguous states and Alaska. They also participated in Senior Olympics where Ruth’s early love of swimming came to the fore and she won 15 gold medals and five silver medals for her swimming, including a gold for the butterfly stroke.
She worked in the adult care program at the J.O.Y center and volunteered for the Literacy Volunteers. She was a member of Aldersgate Methodist Church and sang with their choir.
A memorial service will be held April 12 at 2 p.m. at Aldersgate Methodist Church, 915 W. 19th St., Roswell.
Anderson-Bethany Funeral Home is handling her cremation. Memorial donations may be made to the J.O.Y. Center, 1822 N. Montana Ave., Roswell, NM 88201.
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