Ruth L. Quist

Ruth Lurie Leibowitz Quist, 99, of Brattleboro, VT passed away February 16, 2014 at Vernon Green Nursing Home. Ruth was born in Plainfield, New Jersey on August 30, 2014 to Gutman and Lena Mary Lurie.

She graduated from the American Hospital Nursing School in Chicago in 1936 as a Registered Nurse (RN), where she was then hired as a surgical nurse. Ruth enlisted in the U.S. Army Nurse Corps in 1943 and was stationed in Atlanta, GA in an amputation center. In 1997 she attended the dedication of The Women's Memorial in Washington, DC, honoring all women who have served in the military.

Ruth met her first husband, Oscar Leibowitz, a pharmacist, while they were stationed in the Army in New Jersey. They married in 1945 and had two children, Sue and Lee. They ran the Windham Drug Store on Main Street in Brattleboro and were original members of the Jewish community in Brattleboro. Oscar died in 1967. Ruth then worked for a time as a nurse at Brattleboro Memorial Hospital and then as director of Linden Lodge in Brattleboro. She belonged to the Brattleboro Area Nurses Association and the Floral Arts Society for many years.

Ruth is survived by her son and daughter; two grandchildren, Maya and Stephanie; and a number of beloved nieces and nephews and their families. She is predeceased by her parents and five older siblings-four brothers and a sister-and their spouses.

A memorial service will be held this spring. In lieu of flowers, Ruth requested that donations be given to the Senior Center of Brattleboro, Vermont Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired, Brattleboro Area Jewish Community, and the Vermont Jazz Center.