S Ruth M. (Howe) Hopfmann

STERLING – Ruth M. (Howe) Hopfmann, 93, of Tuttle Road, a 56-year resident of Sterling, passed away on Monday, February 28, 2011 in the Oakdale Rehab and Skilled Nursing Center, West Boylston, after a long illness. She was born on June 1, 1917 in Clinton, the daughter of Abigail Ruth (Langley) Howe Turnbull and Earle F. Howe.

Her husband of 65 years, Ralph M. Hopfmann died in 2003. She is survived by two sons, Alwin E. Hopfmann and his wife Mary Beth of Rutland and Gary M. Hopfmann of Beverly Hills, CA; a daughter, Gail M. Pineo and her husband David of Sterling; a sister, Muriel Johns of Islamorada, FL; two step brothers, Walter and Elliott Turnbull, both of Florida; four grandchildren, David Pineo, Jr. and his wife Terra, Joan Pineo, Michael Pineo and his wife Amy, and Richard Pineo and his wife Karen; six great-grandchildren, Shauna, Joshua, Allison, Erika, Julia and Nicole; and many nephews and nieces. A sister, Dorothy Howe, predeceased her. Her brothers-in-laws and sisters-in-laws, Peter and Marie Garofoli and Gustav and Irene Jahn, also predeceased her.

Ruth attended Clinton and Winchendon High Schools and graduated from Nashua High School in New Hampshire and the David Hale Fanning Trade High School in Worcester. She worked in book publishing at Colonial Press in Clinton, and with her husband, was owner and operator of Hopfmann Orchards in Sterling for many years. An active community volunteer, she was a founding member and curator at Sterling Historial Society and founding member of the Sterling Conservation Commission as well as the Sterling Land Trust. She was also a member of the Sterling Garden Club and the First Church in Sterling. She was an accomplished seamstress and taught sewing and enjoyed gardening, traveling and spending time with her grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Relatives and friends are invited to visit with the family during calling hours from 4 to 7 p.m. on Wednesday, March 2nd, in the Miles-Sterling Funeral Home, 100 Worcester Road (Rte. 12), Sterling. Her funeral service will be held at 11 a.m. on Thursday, March 3rd, in the First Church in Sterling, 6 Meeting House Hill Road, Sterling. Burial will follow in Woodlawn Cemetery, Clinton. The family suggests in lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Sterling Historical Society, P.O. Box 356; or the Sterling Land Trust, P.O. Box 106; or the First Church in Sterling, P.O. Box 40, all in Sterling, MA 01564.

To share a memory or offer a condolence, visit, www.milesfuneralhome.com