(Wynot), age 92, died November 26, 2023, at home in Reading, Massachusetts.
Ruth was born and raised in the Uphams Corner neighborhood of Dorchester. She attended Girls High School in Boston, graduating in 1949. In 1953 she graduated from Bridgewater Teachers College with a degree in early childhood education and married her husband, Jacob (Jack) Louis Goldberg. After graduation, Jack and Ruth moved to Southern California in 1955 to teach the children of workers in Kaiser Aluminum and Chemical Company’s Eagle Mountain Mine.
Ruth and Jack had three children and, in 1972, moved to Reading, Massachusetts, where she lived until her death. She taught kindergarten at Hood School in North Reading from the early 1970s until the mid-1990s. During her 52 years living in Reading, Ruth was active with the Unitarian Universalist Church of Reading (UUCR), the Reading Neighbors Network, Meals on Wheels, and Reading Senior Center and was a Queen of the Red Hat Society. A skilled baker, enthusiastic supporter of PBS and NPR, avid reader and crossword puzzler, and a matriarch who lived with equanimity and compassion for all. Ruth wanted to be remembered as “a loyal friend, a good secret keeper, a fun person with a dry sense of humor, someone who had strong beliefs, and was a teacher and mentor to hundreds”.
Ruth is survived by her daughter Helen Kinney and son-in-law Robert (Bo) Kinney; son William Goldberg and daughter-in-law Sally (Salzwedel) Goldberg; daughter Barbara Pearl and son-in-law Martin Honeycutt; step-daughter Dvora Eden and Dvora’s partner Sammy Azulai. Ruth is also survived by her grandchildren and great-grandchildren: Alexandra (Teja) Kinney; Cameron Kinney and his wife Catherine (Beatrice); Max Kinney and his fiancé Seana Cofsky; Shannon Salzwedel and her son Jacob; Raymond Salzwedel, his wife Elizabeth and their children Bella, Ryu, and Aurora; Josefina Cullinane; Andrew Jose, his wife Abish Ramirez and their child James; Ruth Cantrelle, her husband Matthew, and their child Persephone; Gabriel Jose; Romeo Pearl and his partner Joshua Campi. She is also survived by her beautiful cat Cinderella (Cindy) and her grand dogs Iggy and Foxy.
Ruth was predeceased by her husband, Jack, her sister Barbara Walker, her brother-in-law, the Reverend Edward (Ted) Walker, and her dear friend Gery Cannon.
The family thanks Ruth’s devoted friends, her caring neighbors, the UUCR, and especially Dakota Raine for daily support and care.
Gifts in her memory may be made to the Unitarian Universalist Church of Reading, 239 Woburn St, Reading, MA 01867. A memorial service celebrating her life will be held in the early spring 2024.
