Ruth Williams Wilson Was Seasonal Resident

Ruth Williams Wilson of Wethersfield, Conn., 89, died peacefully in her sleep Oct. 4, following a courageous battle with Alzheimer's disease.

Born in Stratford, Conn. on April 19, 1914, she moved to Wethersfield with her parents, Fred and Beulah Williams in the spring of 1920. The oldest of three children, she lived in Old Wethersfield andattended the Center School, Francis Stillman and Wethersfield High Schools. She was graduated in 1933 and went to work in Hartford at Travelers as a file clerk.

She married the late James C. Wilson Jr. of Wethersfield on Sept. 9, 1939 and set up housekeeping in Old Wethersfield, where they raised five children. A loving, selfless and caring mother, she was always involved in her children's activities; school, scouts, summers at the family vacation home on Basham Lake near Moodus, Wethersfield parades and volunteer fire department picnics.

In the early 1960s, when her children were grown and off to school, she joined her husband in managing the popular family owned Wilson Seafood/Whaler Room Restaurant on the Silas Deane Highway, where she was respectfully known as #1. She joined her husband in retirement in 1973, spending many enjoyable months at their vacation home on Mill Hill in Edgartown. Winters were spent in Wethersfield or traveling in their RV to Florida. When her husband died in 1984, she continued to spend her summers at her home on the Vineyard with her pets, her gardens and her many friends. She attended the Edgartown Woman's Club and was a frequent visitor to the Post Office, the A&P and the Second Hand Store, where she was well-known for saying a friendly hello and striking up a conversation with anyone who might be ready to chat. Weather permitting, she never missed the fireworks or Illumination Night.

She leaves her children: James and his wife, Rachel, of Roseville, Calif.; Thomas and his wife, Maivor, of Wethersfield, Conn.; Ruth Bellizzi and her husband, Michael, of Windham, N.H., and Allen and his wife, Paula, of Chittenden, Vt. She was predeceased by her son, Harry, of Wethersfield. In addition to her children, she leaves a younger sister, Betty Arthur of Wethersfield, 13 grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren.

Family memorial services were held at the Wethersfield Congregational Church and the village cemetery. Remembrances may be made by donations to the Wethersfield Congregational Church, Main street, Wethersfield, or to Alzheimer's research organizations of the donor's choice.