Ruth Mayer Gutman

Falmouth - Ruth M. Gutman died March 5, 2011, at home in Falmouth, Maine, surrounded by love. Ruth was an inspiring role model for family and friends, known for her inquisitive mind and the warmth with which she embraced her family and the world of nature and art. She was born in Mannheim, Germany on November 13, 1918. In 1936, she and her family escaped Nazi Germany and settled in New York.

After arriving in New York, Ruth worked at Macy’s Department Store. In 1942 she married another German Jewish refugee, Carl M. Gutman. Soon after her marriage, Ruth accompanied her husband - who had already enlisted in the U.S. Army - to Texas, where he was stationed. While he was overseas she lived with her parents in Kew Gardens, New York. The family later moved to Merrick, N.Y., where they lived until 1982, when she and her husband moved to Portland, Maine to be near their daughter.

Ruth lived with a variety of difficult challenges, but she remained a hopeful, engaged and loving person. As a young woman in her mid-thirties, Ruth developed multiple sclerosis yet she continued to live a rich and full life. She was active in the community and worked as a children’s librarian. She was a talented watercolor and pastel artist, and an avid reader, always ready to engage in conversation about art, life, music and politics. She loved to travel, and her illness did not deter her. She lived her life with great joy and gratitude, and remained committed to social justice.

Family was at the very center of Ruth’s life. Her grandchildren knew her as ‘Oma’ and were all devoted to and inspired by her. She and her husband had a tradition of taking each grandchild on a trip to Europe for their 10th birthday. The path of their lives and adventures sustained her. This past summer she attended the weddings of her grandson and granddaughter. She was a remarkable woman, with pink cheeks and blue eyes that sparkled like her spirit to the end.

The family would like to thank the staff at Falmouth House for their care and support - especially Linda Emonds, Becky Cidre and Ezra Simpson.

Ruth is predeceased by her parents, Paul and Irma Mayer, and her husband, Carl M. Gutman. She is survived by her children, Stanley “Huck” Gutman and his wife, Buff Lindau of Burlington, Vermont; Joan M. Kidman and her husband, Bruce of Brunswick, Maine; her brother and sister-in-law, Peter and Reggie Mayer, of Kew Gardens, New York; her grandchildren Benjamin Lindau Gutman, Rachel Kidman and her husband Sean Clouston, Timothy Kidman and his wife Shawna, and David Lindau Gutman; her nieces, Carol, Marjorie, Nancy and Susan, and her cousins.

A Funeral Service will be held at 1 pm Friday, March 11, 2011 at the Etz Chaim Synagogue in the Maine Jewish Museum 267 Congress St. Interment will be private.

In lieu of flowers Memorial Contributions may be made in Ruth’s memory to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society PO Box 4527, New York, NY 10163

Please visit www.jonesrichandhutchins.com for additional information and to sign Ruth’s guest book.