Ruth K Davis

Harriett Kaufman, lovingly known as Ruth, was born in an apartment in West New York, New Jersey on January 29, 1919 to Sam and Celia Kaufman. Ruth and her parents moved to Haworth, New Jersey, when she was 12 years old, and she went on to attend Dumont High School, where Ruth’s participation in the glee club sparked her lifelong love of music.

Ruth always knew that she wanted to become a teacher. As a teenager, she taught Sunday school at the Bergenfield Dumont Jewish Community Center, and after graduating high school in 1936, she attended Paterson State Teacher’s College, earning her degree and beginning a career devoted to educating children. In college, Ruth fell madly in love with the music of Gilbert & Sullivan and developed a nearly encyclopedic knowledge of the Victorian-era duo’s operettas; even at age 107, Ruth could recite the lyrics of “I Am The Very Model of a Modern Major-General” from “The Pirates of Penzance.”

After graduation, Ruth taught elementary school in Bergenfield, Dumont, and Haworth until 1951, when she married Harold “Hal” Davis. The two met toward the end of World War II, when Hal (a doctor who had recently returned from service in the Army Medical Corps) paid a house call to Ruth’s mother. Ruth would later recall telling her mother after meeting Hal, “That’s the man I’d like to marry.” Six years later, Ruth and Hal were married in a small ceremony at a friend’s home.

Together, Ruth and Hal built a life in Bergenfield, where they raised their three sons—Fred, Sam, and Dan—in the same home in which Ruth resided until her passing. Ruth was deeply involved in her community, participated in numerous charitable efforts, and was active in organizations including the National Council of Jewish Women and Hadassah. She attended weekly temple services and, later in life, listened to services on television; on Ruth’s 107th birthday, she was thrilled to receive a visit from her favorite cantor, Netanel Hershtik, whose Shabbat services she had listened to every week for many years.

Ruth’s greatest joy was her family, and she relished the frequent calls and visits she received from her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, as well as cousins, close friends, former students, and her many admirers. In particular, Ruth delighted in the deep, mutual affection she shared with her grandchildren—what she fondly called their “mutual admiration society.”

Ruth will be remembered for her sharp wit, her love of music, and above all, her extraordinary capacity for love. Ruth was predeceased by her husband Harold and her son, Frederick. Ruth is survived by her sons Samuel and Daniel and her daughters-in-law Dorothy, Susan, and Elizabeth; her grandchildren, Adrienne (Andrew), Raquel, Ariel (Justin), Alexa (Yaakov), Alana (Jacob), and Joshua; and her great-grandchildren Daniella, Romi, and Nathan.

A funeral service will be held at Gutterman and Musicant Jewish Funeral Directors, 402 Park Street, Hackensack, New Jersey on March 29, 2026, at 12:30 pm. Burial will follow at Cedar Park and Beth El Cemeteries in Paramus, New Jersey.

Shiva will be observed at the home of Alexa Davis & Yaakov Adler in Upper Saddle River, New Jersey at the following times:

Sunday, 3/29: 4:30-7:30pm (Minyan at 7pm)

Monday, 3/30: 12-3pm, 5-7pm (Minyan at 6:30pm)

Tuesday, 3/31: 12-3pm, 5-7pm (Minyan at 6:30pm)

In lieu of flowers, please consider donating in Ruth’s memory to an organization of your choice or an organization that was meaningful to Ruth: Hospice of Holy Name Medical Center and American Friends of Sheba Medical Center (Links Below)