Ruhamah A. "Ranny" (Gaw) Sabourin

STERLING - Ruhamah Ann "Ranny" (Gaw) Sabourin, 78, died peacefully at home, in the presence of her loving family, on Friday, October 18, 2019. She was born in Clinton, the daughter of Clarence M. and Ruhamah M. (Harris) Gaw.

Her beloved husband of 58 years, Roger M. Sabourin, passed away on September 5, 2019. Ranny will be lovingly remembered by her two sons, Roger J. Sabourin and his wife, Donna and Thomas C. Sabourin and his wife, Betsy, all of Sterling; a brother, C. Vernon Gaw and his wife, Victoria of Bedford; her sister, Diane Gaw of Worcester; her beloved granddaughters, Starr, Jennifer and Caitlin; as well as several nieces and nephews. Ranny was also predeceased by her daughter, Cyndi Sabourin. She will also be greatly missed by her life-long best friend, Jill Janas of Croydon, NH.

Ranny graduated from Wachusett Regional High School with the class of 1959 and went on to attend Garland Jr. College. Her life was devoted to her family, faith and community. Ranny was a life-long member of First Church in Sterling. She served the Congregation by teaching Sunday School, organizing the church fair and coordinating the annual Holly Berry Brunch among many other jobs. As a teenager, she earned the Silver Award with the Girl Scouts of America. As a parent and then grandparent, she was a Cub Scout Den Leader, a 4H Leader, a Daisy, Brownie and Junior Girl Scout Leader. She had enjoyed cooking and volunteering at James 2:15 Soup Kitchen in Clinton for eight years. Since 2002, Ranny was a member and Past President of the Sterling Women's Club.

Having grown up the daughter of a Home Economics teacher, Ranny developed a life-long passion for cooking, cake decorating, and tailoring. So many people looked forward to having a cake custom decorated by Ranny for their birthday, wedding or special occasion. For over 25 years, every Wednesday evening became family dinner night where she lovingly prepared the “best meal of the week”. Ranny used her skills as a seamstress to make many children’s Halloween costumes, holiday dresses for her granddaughters and numerous outfits for the Sterling Community Theatre. She was an avid knitter, quilter and even a painter leaving her family with many personal mementos. She had a green thumb and years ago enjoyed selling plants she cultivated from her green house. She continued to enjoy her vegetable garden, sharing the fruits and vegetables with friends and family. Above all she cherished her family. Her legacy is one of love and devotion to her family and she will be dearly missed.

Relatives and friends are invited to attend calling hours from 4 to 7 p.m. on Friday, October 25, 2019 at Miles-Sterling Funeral and Tribute Center, 100 Worcester Rd., Sterling. A funeral service will be held at 11 a.m. on Saturday, October 26th at the First Church in Sterling, 6 Meetinghouse Hill Rd., Sterling. In lieu of flowers donations may be made to First Church in Sterling, Memorial Fund, P.O. Box 40, Sterling, MA 01564-0040 or to The Huff Project, for the awareness and research of lung cancer, www.thehuffproject.org .

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