Ruth Anne (Hoffman) Ault

HOLDEN - Ruth Anne (known as Anne) Ault passed away May 25, 2023, at her son and daughter-in-law's home in Pelham, MA. Anne Hoffman was born at home in Findlay, Ohio on July 10, 1922, to Ernest & Hazel Hoffman. She graduated from Findlay High in 1940 and attended Miami University in Oxford, OH and eventually received a scholarship to study art at John Herron Art Institute, graduating in 1946. During WWII, one of her summer jobs was working for a company making tank parts.

Anne married her high school sweetheart, Neil Ault, in 1946, and they lived in Columbus, OH, while he finished his master's and doctorate degrees at Ohio State. They moved to Massachusetts in 1950 (and Holden in 1951) when Neil got a job at Norton Company in Worcester. By 1953, they had three children and Anne described her life as mommy and painter.

Anne and Neil were long-time members at Chaffin Congregational Church. Anne painted a depiction of Noah's Ark on the nursery wall, was a life member of the Mary Martha Circle, taught in the nursery and Sunday school and organized the church senior center in the 1970s & 1980s, offering senior citizens educational programs from crafts to playing bridge. For many years she was the church historian, served on boards and committees and volunteered at church suppers and fairs.

Anne was a member of the Worcester Art Museum and a volunteer there for many years. She was a member of the Holden Women's Club and the Holden Hospital Auxiliary. She was once clerk of the Chaffin School PTA. When all three of her children went to college, Anne worked as secretary to the principal at Holden Junior High School from 1970-1976.

Along with her art, Anne loved flower gardening, playing bridge and other family card games, doing crosswords and the Daily Jumble, and later playing dominoes with her family. She was a loving parent, grandparent, and friend, and her granddaughter and husband said that "we love her and that her legacy of kindness and decency to everyone will live on through us."

Anne was predeceased by her husband Neil in 2016, her brother Ernest Hoffman, Jr. and her sister, Rosemary Ford. She is survived by her daughter Nancy Harrington and husband Mike, her son Bill and his wife Holly, her son Brian and his wife Mary-Kay Brook, her grandson Russell and his wife Sally Scott, and her granddaughter Mary Beth Ault and her husband Byron Lachapelle. She was also very close to her cousin Julia Leonard and her husband Bob Karalokian, Neil's brother Lynn, and her nieces and nephews. Anne lived in the same house in Holden for more than 70 years and when she stopped driving, several years ago, she loved to invite her neighbors and her oldest friend, Maureen Stafford, for tea.

Relatives and friends are invited to attend calling hours from 6 to 8 p.m. on Friday, June 9th at the Miles Funeral Home, 1158 Main Street, Holden. A celebration of her life will be held on Saturday, June 10th at 11 a.m. in the funeral home followed by a committal service at Grove Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Holden Senior Center, 1130 Main Street, Holden, MA 01520. To share a memory or offer an online condolence, please visit the "Tribute Wall" on this page.